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How India brought back its ambassador, staff from embassy in Kabul
On Monday, another C-17 aircraft had brought back some 40 people, including diplomats and security personnel, before operations at Kabul airport were suspended and control of the airspace over the city was handed over to the military
India announced on Tuesday that its ambassador and staff at the embassy in Kabul were being brought back home even as a second C-17 Globemaster heavy lift aircraft took off from the Afghanistan capital with more than 120 people on board.
On Monday, another C-17 aircraft had brought back some 40 people, including diplomats and security personnel, before operations at Kabul airport were suspended and control of the airspace over the city was handed over to the military.
“In view of the prevailing circumstances, it has been decided that our Ambassador in Kabul and his Indian staff will move to India immediately,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
Ambassador Rudrendra Tandon had taken up his assignment in Kabul in August last year, and people familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity that the decision to bring back the envoy and diplomatic staff was made because of the perception that their security could not guaranteed in the Afghan capital.
The people said the second C-17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force was bringing back more than 120 people, including officials and security personnel from the embassy and some Indian nationals, from Kabul. The people were brought into the secure areas of Kabul airport late on Monday, they added.
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On Monday, the people who were to return on the second military evacuation flight were initially turned back by Taliban fighters guarding Kabul’s diplomatic quarter and later drove to the airport following intense efforts by the Indian side all through the day.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar too was involved in these efforts. At almost 3am on Tuesday, he tweeted about his discussions in this regard with US secretary of state Antony Blinken: “Discussed latest developments in Afghanistan with @SecBlinken. Underlined the urgency of restoring airport operations in Kabul. Deeply appreciate the American efforts underway in this regard.”
There was no official word on the two C-17 flights. The people cited above said both C-17s had flown into Kabul using a more circuitous route through Iranian airspace and over the Arabian Sea in order to avoid flying over Pakistan and spending too much time in Afghan airspace.
The repatriation of the ambassador and other staff from Kabul reflected India’s lack of trust in the Taliban’s announcement that all embassies and diplomats would be provided security. Taliban spokesman Suhail Saheen had tweeted on Monday night: “We assure all diplomats, embassies, consulates, and charitable workers, whether they are international or national, that not only no problem will be created for them on the part of IEA but a secure environment will be provided to them, Inshallah.”
There was also no official word on the status of the Indian embassy in Kabul, where many Western countries have shuttered their missions. After the Covid-19 outbreak last year, India had closed its consulates in Herat and Jalalabad, while the consulates in Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif were left in the care of local Afghan staff as fighting with the Taliban intensified in recent weeks.
In a separate development, the Union home ministry (MHA) announced on Twitter on Tuesday that it had reviewed “visa provisions in view of the current situation in Afghanistan” and introduced a new category of electronic visa called “e-Emergency X-Misc Visa” to “fast-track visa applications for entry into India”.
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The online portal for e-visa applications was updated and when an applicant selects “Afghanistan” in the drop down menu, the “e-Emergency X-Misc Visa” category shows automatically. Afghanistan is not yet listed among “eligible countries” on the homepage of the e-visa portal, but the application form was updated to include Afghanistan and the new e-visa category, officials said.
Jaishankar also tweeted that the Indian side is in “constant touch with the Sikh and Hindu community leaders in Kabul”, and their “welfare will get our priority attention”. India had earlier said it will facilitate travel to India by members of the two Afghan minorities.
The minister further tweeted that he was monitoring the situation in Kabul continuously. “Understand the anxiety of those seeking to return to India. Airport operations are the main challenge. Discussions on with partners in that regard,” he added.
“Given the Kabul situation, important we have accurate information about Indians there,” Jaishankar said in another tweet and called for such information to be provided to the external affairs ministry’s Special Afghanistan Cell at the phone number +919717785379 and the email ID: MEAHelpdeskIndia@gmail.com.
There was no word if any Indian nationals were still in Kabul, which is currently the only way out of Afghanistan as the Taliban have taken over all land border crossings and smaller airports.
