Jaishankar to brief Parliament floor leaders on Afghan situation on Thursday

External affairs minister S Jaishankar said the ministry of external affairs would brief the lawmakers as instructed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi said on Monday external affairs minister S Jaishankar will brief floor leaders of political parties in Parliament on the prevailing situation in Afghanistan on August 26. Earlier, Jaishankar said the ministry of external affairs (MEA) would brief the lawmakers as instructed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar.(PTI)

Sharing the time and venue of the meeting, Joshi said Jaishankar would talk to the floor leaders at the main committee room of the PHA in Delhi at 11am on Thursday and email invites were being sent.

As the crisis in Afghanistan deepens following its takeover by the Taliban and fall of the West-back elected government, led by Ashraf Ghani, several countries have been rushing to evacuate their citizens through the Kabul airport, which has seen unsettling incidents in recent days as locals have become desperate to escape from the rule of the Islamic emirate. Earlier in the day, a member of the Afghan security force was killed and three others were wounded in a firefight with unknown attackers at Kabul airport.

India too has been evacuating its citizens as well as desperate Afghans, including members of minority communities like Sikhs and Hindus, from the war-torn country.

The Narendra Modi government is on the verge of completing its evacuation process with two more flights coming from Afghanistan during the day. So far, six flights -- some run by the Indian Air Force, while others belonging to Air India -- have completed their missions with the evacuation starting on August 16 bringing back over 700 people.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said that the Indian government is committed to the safe return of all Indian nationals from Afghanistan. The MEA said the main challenge for travel to and from Afghanistan is the operational status of the Kabul airport.

India has reportedly been allowed to operate two flights per day from Kabul to evacuate its nationals stranded in Afghanistan. The permission was granted by American and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces, controlling operations of the Hamid Karzai International Airport over the past few days.

On August 17, two days after the Islamic militant group completed its smooth capturing of Kabul with minimal resistance, India said it will issue an emergency e-visas to Afghan nationals who want to come to the country in view of the prevailing crisis in their country.

All Afghans, irrespective of their religion, can apply for the 'e-Emergency X-Misc Visa' online and the applications will be processed in New Delhi. The visa would initially be valid for six months, officials said.