In a security advisory, the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan has advised the Indian nationals to make "immediate" travel arrangements to return to India. It has also "strongly advised" the Indian companies to "immediately withdraw" their Indian employees out of their project sites in Afghanistan. In the advisory, they have further asked the Indian mediapersons to "establish contact with Public Affairs and Security Wing of the Embassy for a personalized briefing".
Besides, the Indian Consulate General on Tuesday said that it has arranged a special flight from Mazar-e-Sharif to New Delhi which will depart on Tuesday evening. "A special flight is leaving from Mazar-e-Sharif to New Delhi. Any Indian nationals in and around Mazar-e-Sharif are requested to leave for India in the special flight scheduled to depart late today evening," the Indian Consulate General in Mazar-e-Sharif said. "Indian citizens desiring to leave by special flight should immediately convey their full name, passport number, date of expiry by whatsapp at the following numbers: 0785891303 0785891301," Consulate General added.
This comes after the Taliban's rapid advances across Afghanistan. On Monday, the terrorist organization captured another provincial capital in the North, Aybak city, reportedly without any resistance by the Afghan defense forces. Further, the Taliban have intensified assaults on the capitals of Balkh (Mazar-e-Sharif); Baghlan (Pul-e-Khumri); Badakhshan (Faizabad) and Farah (Farah). Separately, clashes continued in Lashkar Gah, Kandahar and Herat cities.
Check out the Security Advisory for Indian Nationals in Afghanistan:
1. This Security Advisory is in continuation of the two Security Advisories issued by the Embassy recently, on 29 June and 24 July 2021. The advisory provided in the above two Security Advisories remains valid and all Indian nationals in Afghanistan are requested to take immediate necessary steps as advised in these two Security Advisories.
2. Further, as violence in many parts of Afghanistan has escalated, commercial air travel services to many provinces and cities are getting discontinued. All Indian nationals visiting, staying and working in Afghanistan are strongly advised to keep themselves updated on the availability of commercial flights from various parts of Afghanistan and make immediate travel arrangements to return to India before commercial air services are discontinued to their place of stay/visit in Afghanistan.
3. Indian companies operating in Afghanistan are strongly advised to immediately withdraw their Indian employees out of project sites in Afghanistan before air travel services get discontinued. Indian nationals working for Afghan or foreign companies in Afghanistan should immediately request their employer to facilitate their travel from project sites to India. They can also contact the Embassy at the contact details provided in this Advisory.
4. Special attention is once again drawn to the members of the Indian media arriving in Afghanistan. The contents of this advisory are valid for such Indian media persons also. It is very essential that all Indian media persons arriving/staying in Afghanistan to establish contact with Public Affairs and Security Wing of the Embassy for a personalized briefing, including specific advice for the location they are traveling to. This will help media persons make a better assessment of the risks involved, given the rapid changes in security situation taking place in different parts of the country.
5. All Indian nationals are once again advised to register themselves with the Embassy of India website: https://eoi.gov.in/kabul or by email to naw.kabulmea.gz.in immediately.
