India may charter planes for Afghanistan evacuation

August 17, 2021 18:12

The Indian Embassy in Afghanistan's Kabul is not closed, local staff is providing consular services, says the External Affairs ministry.

Excerpts from the MEA briefing...

-- More than 1,650 people have applied for their return to India.

-- For evacuations, India parked its C-17 at Ayni Air Base in Tajikistan as there was a huge rush at Kabul airport in Afghanistan. So Indian aircraft were on standby at Ayni Air Base and they flew to Kabul when cleared by the US which is controlling Kabul Airport.

-- India is also exploring options to hire charter planes to evacuate more Indians from Afghanistan.

-- India will also watch how other democracies react to the Taliban regime. India to wait and watch that how inclusive will be the government formation and how will the Taliban conduct.

-- There are security concerns that Afghanistan might become the first epicenter of Islamic terrorism which has a state.

-- They have access to all the weapons which Americans have supplied and also the weapons of 3 lakh plus Afghan National Army personnel.

-- Pakistan based groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi have some presence in Afghanistan, they have built check posts in some villages and parts of Kabul, along with Taliban.

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