Among the many Indians stuck in Afghanistan waiting to return back after the Taliban took over the country, is popuar actress Nupur Alankar’s brother-in-law, Kaushal Agarwal.
A report in timesofindia.com states that ‘the 50-year-old businessman is married to Nupur’s younger sister and is father to six-year-old twins, he flew to Kabul on July 16 on a business trip and was scheduled to return home on August 15, but he is now stuck in Kandahar.’
In a telephonic conversation with the website, Kaushal said, “It’s a very scary situation here. When I reached Kabul on July 16, it wasn’t bad and nobody expected things to spiral out of control in such a short span. My original plan was to return to India on August 15, but since I hadn’t finished my work, I went to the Indian embassy for an extension of my visa till August 30.”
Kaushal, who is currently in Kandahar, is staying at a friend’s office further added, “There are frequent power cuts and we have electricity supply for about three-four hours each day. Also, there’s no proper water supply and we are able to take a bath only once in three days. I charge my mobile phone by using the car battery. They have instructed all mobile network providers to stop the connection from 6 pm to 6 am. So, I can make calls only before and after that. The Taliban can be seen patrolling the streets of Kandahar and it is unnerving. I am stuck here and all I want to do is return to India and be with my family. I have mailed a request to the Indian embassy, but there is no reply from them yet. My calls to their office have gone unanswered. I will have to go to Kabul to take a flight to India, but the worry right now is how do I get there?”
Meanwhile, Kaushal’s family in Mumbai is trying to reach out to government officials for his safe return.