AMid the Taliban’s rapid advancement in Afghanistan and the Afghan government losing control of province after province, the Indian embassy in Kabul has issued an advisory today asking all Indian citizens to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible.
The urgent advisory issued by the Ministry of External Affairs via the Indian Embassy in Kabul asks all Indian citizens currently working, staying in Afghanistan to make immediate travel arrangements before commercial air services get cancelled. It says that as violence is escalating in many parts of Afghanistan, commercial air services may be discontinued at any time and Indian nationals should keep themselves updated about the availability of travel options.
Security Advisory for Indian Nationals in Afghanistan@MEAIndia pic.twitter.com/yB13DRpkgT
— India in Afghanistan (@IndianEmbKabul) August 10, 2021
Indian companies working in Afghanistan have also been advised to withdraw their employees from project sites and plan to send them back to India. Indians working for non-Indian companies have been asked to do the same.
Especially addressing media persons working in the war-ravaged country, the Embassy has stated that all Indian media persons working in Afghanistan should report for a personalised briefing and be in touch with the Embassy regarding their location. Emails and phone numbers are provided.
India evacuating citizens and diplomats from Mazar-e-Sharif
The Indian consulate at Mazar-e-Sharif in Northern Afghanistan had hours ago issued a statement asking all Indian citizens to take the special plane that will leave for Delhi today evening. Earlier, the Indian consulates at Kandahar and Herat were evacuated too.
It is notable here that the situation in Afghanistan is worsening each passing day. In the 3 days between 6 to 8 August, the Taliban had taken 5 major cities and provincial capitals under their control. Last week, bomb blasts were reported at Kabul’s VIP areas too.
