Flights will continue evacuating Indians from Kabul: Envoy
THE ENVOY SAID AIR INDIA HAD TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED ITS FLIGHTS TO KABUL BECAUSE OF THE CONDITIONS AT THE AIRPORT
NEW DELHI: Some Indian citizens are still in Afghanistan and Air India will continue operating flights from Kabul as long as the airport there remains functional, Indian envoy Rudrendra Tandon said on Tuesday after his evacuation with other diplomatic staff.
India decided to withdraw the ambassador and all other staff from the mission in Kabul – effectively closing the embassy for the second time since 1996 – due to the uncertainty created by the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan following the collapse of the government on Sunday.
Close to 200 Indian officials and security personnel were flown out of Kabul in two groups on two C-17 military heavy lift aircraft on Monday and Tuesday, with the flights being conducted in secrecy amid the chaotic occupation of Kabul by the Taliban. On Monday, the second group of officials faced problems in getting to the airport from the embassy – a distance of about 10 km – because of checkpoints set up by the Taliban.
“We are continuously monitoring the situation because there are still some Indian citizens who are there. That is why Air India will continue to run its commercial services to Kabul as long as the airport in Kabul functions,” Tandon told reporters during a brief interaction at the airbase in Jamnagar, Gujarat, where the C-17 landed en route to Hindon airbase.
The envoy said Air India had temporarily suspended its flights to Kabul because of the conditions at the airport. “However, we continue to ensure that anyone who is stuck there is somehow brought [back], for which the [external affairs ministry] has opened a help desk that is operating already,” he said.
He added, “As you know, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan no longer exists and the situation is quite fluid now.”
Asked about the number of Indian nationals who are still in Afghanistan, Tandon said it would be difficult to give an exact figure as they didn’t always register themselves with the embassy in Kabul despite advisories.