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Repatriation of Indians hit as chaos clouds Kabul airport
Late on Monday, hundreds of people remained trapped between American forces trying to push them out of the airport and Taliban forces trying to keep them in, witnesses said.
India on Monday pledged to stand by its partners in Afghanistan following the country’s takeover by the Taliban even as the repatriation of Indian officials and nationals was paused because of chaos at Kabul airport, where thousands of Afghans rushed in, some so desperate to escape the Taliban that they held onto a military jet as it took off, and plunged to their deaths.
At least seven people were killed around the airport, with the circumstances not being entirely clear — some likely died in a stampede while gunshots too were heard.
All flights at the airport — both military and civilian — were halted until Afghan civilians can be cleared from the runway, a Pentagon official told the Associated Press.
Late on Monday, hundreds of people remained trapped between American forces trying to push them out of the airport and Taliban forces trying to keep them in, witnesses said.
In India, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the government was working to facilitate the repatriation of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus who wish to leave Afghanistan as well as some Indian nationals who are still in the war-torn country.
“The security situation in Kabul has deteriorated significantly in the last few days. It is changing rapidly even as we speak,” Bagchi said in the first official reaction from the Indian side since the fall of President Ashraf Ghani’s government on Sunday.
The sudden closure of Hamid Karzai International Airport threw schedules for the few remaining airlines operating flights to Afghanistan into disarray, including Air India, which cancelled a flight to Kabul scheduled for 12.30 pm on Monday.
“Commercial operations from Kabul airport have been suspended [on Monday]. This has forced a pause in our repatriation efforts. We are awaiting the resumption of flights to restart the process,” Bagchi said.
Without giving details, he added, “There are also a number of Afghans who have been our partners in the promotion of our mutual developmental, educational and people-to-people endeavours. We will stand by them.”
Bagchi said the Indian side is in touch with representatives of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus and will “facilitate repatriation to India of those who wish to leave Afghanistan”.
At the same time, the Indian side is “aware that there are still some Indian nationals in Afghanistan who wish to return and we are in touch with them”.
Last year, the Indian government helped more than 380 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus to travel to the country.
People familiar with the developments said on condition of anonymity that the government is likely to grant refuge to other Afghans who face threats or fear persecution by the Taliban, including civil society activists, journalists and human rights workers.
Two NOTAMs or notices to airmen — official notices containing essential information on flight operations — issued by the Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority said the Kabul airport’s civilian side was “closed until further notice” and airspace over the city had “been released to the military”. The second NOTAM advised all “transit aircraft to reroute” and cautioned that “any transit through Kabul airspace will be uncontrolled”.
The storming of the airport raised questions about how much longer aircraft would be able to safely take off and land. The US military and other Western forces continued to organise evacuations, and AP reported the head of the US Central Command met senior Taliban leaders in Qatar and “won their agreement to establish an arrangement under which evacuation operations” can continue without interference.
The people cited above said that a few hundred Indians, including diplomats, officials and security personnel posted at the embassy in Kabul, and journalists and citizens were currently in the Afghan capital. Military aircraft have been on standby for evacuation flights and two C-17 Globemaster heavy-lift aircraft of the Indian Air Force have been sent to Kabul via Iranian airspace since Sunday.
One of these aircraft returned on Monday, again flying over Iran in order to avoid Pakistani airspace. Officials were tight-lipped about the evacuation flights, citing operational reasons and security concerns, and didn’t give any details, including the number of Indians brought back.
Though the Taliban said that fighters in Kabul had been instructed to protect the “life, property and honour” of people, there were reports of the group conducting house-to-house searches to identify people who had worked with the government or US forces, government employees, musicians, reporters and women journalists.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Saheen 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 (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) but a secure environment will be provided to them, Inshallah.”
However, the people cited above said such assurances couldn’t be taken at face value given the group’s reputation and long-standing links to Pakistan’s security establishment.
