Afghanistan arranges special flight to evacuate its nationals from Noida, Delhi and Punjab

The Embassy of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has written to the ministry of external affair and authorities of Noida, Delhi and Phagwara in Punjab to facilitate

The Embassy of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has written to the ministry of external affair and authorities of Noida, Delhi and Phagwara in Punjab to facilitate the movement of their nationals so that they catch a special flight from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on April 25. The Afghanistan government has decided to evacuate its national stuck in India, in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

HT Image

The external affairs ministry has issued a letter with details of vehicles ferrying Afghan nationals and their names for the authorities of Noida, Delhi and Phagwara for hassle-free movement to reach the airport. All Afghan nationals have to board the special flight at 5.30pm Saturday.

Around 171 Afghan nationals living in these three cities will be leaving for Kabul. The list includes students from the Lovely Professional University in Phagwara, Punjab, Sharda University and Noida International University.

Around 50 of them are in Greater Noida, of whom 41 are students of Sharda University. The other Afghan nationals are those who had come to India on medical emergencies or for personal reasons.

“The Covid-19 situation is same all over the world. Our nationals are safe in India. We have arranged a special fight to bring them back to Afghanistan. We have provided the list of our citizens who will be travelling from Noida, Punjab and Delhi to reach the IGI Airport,” Sediqullah Sahar, education attache, Afghanistan embassy in Delhi, said.

Sharda University has made all the required arrangements as per the letter from the Ministry of external affairs. “Our 41 Afghan students will be leaving on Saturday to board the evening flight. We have made all the required arrangements so that they can reach the airport on time. We will be giving them masks and hand sanitisers to ensure their safety. All persons leaving tomorrow will be tested at the Kabul airport upon arrival and those who test positive for Covid-19 will be sent to the isolation wards, while suspected persons will be sent to the quarantine centre,” Dr Ajit Kumar, joint registrar, Sharda University, said quoting the ministry’s letter.

On March 9, Bhutan had evacuated its 41 students from Gautam Budh Nagar. There are around 3,000 foreign students studying in Greater Noida.