India Evacuating 75 People From Kabul By Special IAF Aircraft
Passengers disembark from Indian Air Force's C17 Globemaster at Hindon Air Force Base
S Jaishankar is to brief the floor leaders of political parties in Parliament on the developments in war-torn Afghanistan
NEW DELHI: India is evacuating 75 people, including 46 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, from Kabul by a special Indian Air Force aircraft on Monday, a person familiar with the matter said.
The 75 are the latest to be brought back to India by special flights from Afghanistan where the Pakistan backed Taliban has taken control. After sweeping through the country taking one provincial capital after another, the Taliban captured Kabul on 15 August after Afghan president Ashraf Ghani resigned.
In a related development, Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar is to brief the floor leaders of political parties in Parliament on the developments in war-torn Afghanistan.
"In view of developments in Afghanistan, PM @narendramodi has instructed that MEA brief Floor Leaders of political parties. Minister of Parliamentary Affairs @JoshiPralhad will be intimating further details," Jaishankar said in a Twitter post.
The 46 members of the Sikh community arriving in India on Monday are also bringing with them three copies of Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib. These are from various gurudwaras in Afghanistan.
"The evacuation of these 46 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus at such a challenging time is a big relief for us. US security forces escorted these people to the Kabul airport," said Manjinder Singh Sirsa, president of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee said.
Besides the 75, India also brought back 146 of its nationals by four flights from the Qatari capital Doha, days after they were evacuated from Afghanistan by NATO and American aircraft.
On Sunday India had brought back one of the largest batches of people from Afghanistan – 392 via three flights. The evacuees included Afghan MPs -- Narinder Singh Khalsa and Anarkali Kaur Honaryar -- and their families. In all, India has brought back more than 700 people from Afghanistan.
No comments:
Post a Comment