The Indian government on Tuesday said it will make all possible efforts to evacuate its citizens stranded in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, PTI reported.
India has already evacuated its Ambassador to Afghanistan, Rudrendra Tandon, and the Embassy staff from Kabul in two phases.
“The Indian government will bring its citizens back to their homes from Afghanistan, like we did in the Vande Bharat Mission, through Air India and the Indian Air Force planes, whichever way is possible,” Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said late on Tuesday night.
The security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated rapidly as the Taliban returned to power after 20 years. Scenes of panic and desperation unfolded at the Kabul airport on Monday as thousands of people tried to flee the war-torn country. Some held on to the sides of a plane and at least two people fell to their deaths after it took off.
India and several other countries have launched massive efforts to evacuate their citizens and embassy officials from Afghanistan. But many more are still waiting to be evacuated.
An Indian citizen in Afghanistan, who did not wish to be identified, told The Indian Express that officials had not contacted him or others despite several distress calls.
“All of us are virtually hiding in various buildings, or hotels, fearing the Taliban,” he said. “Our stock of provisions is running out. Shops still remain shut although the new government has allowed keeping the shops open. We are just surviving for the last four days at the mercy of local benefactors.”
The man said that he had been staying in a room that an Afghan friend provided him. He added that gun-wielding Taliban members patrolled his area and he was scared to even step out. “We are desperately waiting for help,” he added.
Also read: Walking on the streets of Kabul, before the Taliban took over Afghanistan
At the Bakhtar University in Kabul, four Indian teachers are waiting to be brought home.
“We have reached out to every possible forum in India and we are hoping that the government will do something to ensure our immediate evacuation,” Mohd Aasif Shah from Jammu and Kashmir, who teaches economics at the university, told PTI.
Shah had planned to travel back home on Monday. “I even had my ticket booked but the situation was rapidly changing,” he told the news agency. “It took me hours to get to the airport and the sight at the airport was like entire Kabul had gathered there. The flight was cancelled and I had no choice but to return to the university hostel.”
Shah’s colleagues, Syed Abid Hussain from Bihar, Adil Rasool from Kashmir and Afroz Alam from Jharkhand, are also living in uncertainty. “We are just praying that the situation does not get any worse than this and we are able to go home safely,” Rasool said.
Many people from Uttarakhand are also stranded in Afghanistan. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday and urged him to evacuate them.
“We are in constant touch with the Centre,” Dhami said. “It is taking all steps to ensure that each Indian stranded in Afghanistan comes back home safely.”
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