Afghanistan Crisis: India Evacuate Its Kabul Embassy Staff From Kabul

Highlights:

• The Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan is Rudrendra Tandon.
• Over 120 Indian officials boarded an IAF C-17 heavy-lift cargo plane that took off from Kabul.
• A new type of visa has been issued to Afghans wishing to visit India after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan

According to sources, two Indian Air Force C-17 cargo planes went to Kabul on August 15 to evacuate Indian embassy employees, including Indo-Tibetan Border Police officers who protect the mission. The tough and hard conditions under which the Indian mission staff was evacuated have now been revealed.

The security situation deteriorated significantly in the intervening night of August 15-16, and no evacuations were feasible, according to sources. The Taliban apparently kept an eye on the Indian embassy, and the high-security Green Zone was breached.

The Shahir Visa Agency, which issues visas for Afghans wishing to travel to India, was raided by Taliban terrorists, according to a source.

According to them, Taliban sentries stopped the first batch of 45 Indian personnel who were evacuated by the first IAF aircraft yesterday on their route to the airport.

According to sources, the Taliban militants took the personal belongings of a few Indian staff members as they made their way to the airport.

Given the turmoil at Kabul airport, where thousands of desperate Afghans had arrived in the expectation of flying out of the country, the first Indian transport aircraft that departed Kabul yesterday took off under difficult conditions.

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Because the route to the airport was closed and there were mobs at the airport, the remaining members of the Indian diplomatic and security contingent were unable to evacuate yesterday.

A phone call between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar last night may have assisted in deployment of Indian personnel to Kabul airport this morning.

All of the remaining Indian mission members, totaling over 120 people, including Ambassador Rudrendra Tandon, boarded the second IAF C-17 this morning and successfully flew out of Afghan territory.

Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the Kabul airport authorities declared the Afghan airspace “uncontrolled,” and India announced on Monday that it would take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and security of its citizens, as well as to facilitate the repatriation of Sikhs and Hindus who wish to leave the country.

The Union Home Ministry announced on Tuesday, a different type of visa for Afghans wishing to visit India, two days after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan.

” The MHA reviews visa provisions in view of the current situation in Afghanistan. A new category of electronic visa called ‘e-Emergency X-Misc Visa’ introduced to fast-track visa applications for entry into India,” a Home Ministery spokesperson stated.