As the Taliban await the transfer of power after its militants entered the Afghan capital Kabul from all sides today seeking the unconditional surrender of the Afghanistan govt, India is looking at the speedy evacuation of its diplomatic personnel, along with most other countries including the USA.
According to reports, India has started the process of evacuation of Indian nationals out of Kabul. To bring back the Indians, an Air India flight AI-243 took off from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport for Kabul in the morning.
The national carrier landed safely at Afghanistan capital Kabul from Delhi an hour delayed amid turmoil in Afghanistan with the Taliban. Flight tracking sites showed that the aircraft was hovering in the Kabul sky for around an hour before finally landing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport.
After the commercial passenger flight arrived on the outskirts of Kabul, authorities from Kabul’s air traffic control were unavailable to assist Air India Flight 243 in landing. Because the Taliban have advanced into Kabul’s capital, the pilot of the flight had to turn off the radar to avoid detection and the potential of being attacked. This caused the delay in the landing.
Soon after landing the aircraft, Air India staff was told by the aviation authority at Kabul “to start boarding the passengers who wish to come back to their country”. After the security and boarding processes, the flight will return to Delhi tonight with a full load of passengers.
Besides Indian nationals, the flight is also bringing back diplomats and security officials posted at the Indian embassy in Kabul.
Security and boarding processes of an Air India flight are underway at Kabul airport in Afghanistan. The flight will return to Delhi tonight with a full load of passengers: Sources
— ANI (@ANI) August 15, 2021
The return flight AI244 took off just after 5 PM after refuelling at the Kabul airport and is expected to land in Delhi shortly after 7.30 PM.
A flight of Kam Air, the private airline from Afghanistan, also landed in Kabul from Delhi at 7.15 pm, according to flight-tracking sites, although it is known whether that flight will return to Delhi with evacuated passengers.
India had already issued an advisory to Indian nationals to leave the country last week.
After a month-long offensive against the Afghan army, terrorists associated with the Islamist outfit Taliban finally reached the gates of Kabul on Sunday (August 15). After entering the capital city, a Taliban delegation made their way to the presidential palace and urged President Ashraf Ghani to surrender to avoid bloodshed.
President Ashraf Ghani is expected to relinquish power after talks with the Taliban. It is speculated Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will be the new president of Afghanistan under the Taliban regime after the Afghanistan Government surrendered to the Islamic terrorists.
