New Delhi: As the Taliban has taken control over capital Kabul and almost all the other parts of the country, Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh has expressed concerns over Indians residing there.
With situation getting worst each day, the Chief Minister has urged External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar for "immediate evacuation of all Indians, including around 200 Sikhs, stuck in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover".
In a Twitter post on Monday, Capt. Amarinder Singh said, "Urge @DrSJaishankar, MEA, GoI, to arrange for immediate evacuation of all Indians, including around 200 Sikhs, stuck in a Gurudwara in Afghanistan after the #Taliban takeover. My govt is willing to extend any help needed to ensure their safe evacuation. @MEAIndia"
Earlier today, he sounded a dire warning to the Central government that the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban has ominous signs for India. "Afghanistan's fall to Taliban doesn't augur well for our country. It'll strengthen the Sino-Pak nexus against India (China has already sought militia's help on Uyghur). The signs are not at all good, we need to be extra vigilant now at all our borders," he tweeted.
Indians, Afghan Nationals Demand Immediate Evacuation
Besides Punjab CM, several Indian citizens have come forward requesting the Government of India to help evacuate their family and relatives stranded in Afghanistan.
A travel blogger identified as Nikita in her Twitter post urged the Prime Minister and the Indian Mission in Afghanistan to evacuate her father stuck in Kabul. "My father is stuck in Kabul near the airport. His flight was supposed to be today from Kabul to Delhi however all commercial flights are suspended. Requesting the embassy & Indian govt. to provide emergency evacuation support," Nikita said.
News agency ANI quoted an Afghan national living in Delhi, who demanded the Indian government to grant visas to his relatives and other Afghans to take shelter in India.
Evacuation Operation Affected
According to reports, India has devised contingency plans to evacuate hundreds of its officials and citizens from Kabul. People privy to the details of the development informed that the Indian government is committed to not put the lives of its staffers at the Indian embassy and other Indian citizens in Kabul at risk, plans have already been finalised, news agency PTI reported.
However, as chaos prevails in the capital city of Afghanistan, it is learned that the evacuation process via commercial flights will be on a halt. This has affected the Air India flight which was to take off at 12.30 PM IST on Monday, August 16.
As per the latest inputs, it was announced that Afghanistan closed its airspace for all the commercial flights. According to TOLONews, the air travel is suspended at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
After Taliban forces took control over Afghanistan's Presidential Palace in Kabul, major airlines were already rerouting their flights to avoid Afghanistan Airspace.