India, UK ministers discuss Afghanistan
resident of Bhaluani village, are praying for his safe return. “We are in regular touch with Nitish on his mobile. The factory owner said he did not have trained personnel to run the factory, so once the work was completed or he hired local people, he would arrange for their return to India,” Nitish’s father Srinand Gupta said. Anita Chaudhary, wife of Dinesh Chaudhary who is also stuck in the same factory, urged the Prime Minister to bring back the workers just as the Centre ensured the return of several people from Kabul on a special Indian Air Force aircraft on Tuesday.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi should also arrange a flight for the return of my husband and other Indian workers trapped in the factory,” she said. Uttar Pradesh minister Siddharth Nath Singh said the state government is in constant touch with the central government regarding evacuation of the people from Afghanistan. “The people from UP will also be brought home safely,” he said.
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the state government is in constant touch with over 300 of its residents who have been issuing fervent pleas to be evacuated from the land-locked country.
“We have apprised the officials of the ministry of external affairs and are in constant touch with them for the evacuation of all the people of Uttarakhand who are stranded in Afghanistan. We will bring them back soon while ensuring their safety. The Centre is working on it,” Dhami said. A resident of Clement Town area of Dehradun termed the situation as “dangerous and uncertain”.
“After the regime change, our employer has abandoned us to our fate. The situation outside is very dangerous and uncertain ,”
told HT via Whatsapp. On Wednesday, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that more 200 people from north Bengal were stranded in Afghanistan. “The state’s chief secretary is writing a letter to the ministry of external affairs to ensure their safe return to India and to West Bengal,” she told reporters at the state secretariat. .
External affairs minister S Jaishankar and his British counterpart Dominic Raab have exchanged views on the developments in Afghanistan and agreed to work together to tackle shared security threats, support refugees and ease the humanitarian plight of ordinary Afghans.
Jaishankar arrived in New York on Monday to chair meetings in the UN Security Council on technology and peacekeeping and on counter-terrorism under India’s current presidency of the Council.
During his visit, he held bilateral meetings and discussions with UN Secretary-general Antonio Guterres and other foreign ministers, focusing on the situation in Afghanistan.
“Welcome the conversation today with UK Foreign Secretary @Dominicraab. Exchanged views on the Afghanistan developments and the immediate challenges,” Jaishankar tweeted after his meeting with his British counterpart on Wednesday.
Raab said he spoke to Jaishankar about the situation in Afghanistan. “The UK & India will work together to tackle shared security threats, support refugees, and ease the humanitarian plight of ordinary Afghans,” Raab tweeted.
On Wednesday, after chairing the UNSC open debate on peacekeeping, Jaishankar, speaking to reporters at the Security Council stakeout said India is closely following the developments in Afghanistan. “At the moment we are, like everybody else, very carefully following developments in Afghanistan. I think our focus is on ensuring the security in Afghanistan and the safe return of Indians,” Jaishankar said.