IAF brings back citizens from war-torn Afghanistan

Amid the deteriorating situation in war-torn Afghanistan, the Indian Consulate General of India in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, on Tuesday urged the Indian nationals leaving in and around the region to leave for their home country, ETV Bharat senior correspondent Chandrakala Choudhury reports

New Delhi: A special flight of the Indian Air Force carrying Indian diplomats and staff from Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, landed at the Hindon Airbase this morning. With this, the evacuation of people from the Indian consulate in Mazar has been completed, sources said.

Amid the deteriorating situation in war-torn Afghanistan, the Indian Consulate General of India in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, on Tuesday urged the Indian nationals leaving in and around the region to leave for their home country. India's move to evacuate its nationals comes as Taliban insurgents are inching closer towards capturing Mazar-e-Sharif. Around 50 including Indian diplomats and staff returned this morning from Indian Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan.

Immediately after the decision to evacuate Indian diplomats and staff, the Indian embassy in Kabul on Tuesday issued a security advisory asking the Indian nationals in Afghanistan to make immediate travel arrangements to return to India before commercial air services are discontinued in the war-torn country. The advisory noted that as violence in many parts of Afghanistan has escalated, commercial air travel services for 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 in Afghanistan,” it said. According to government data, around 1,500 Indians are currently staying in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani arrived in Mazar as the Taliban captured Faizabad overnight, making it the ninth city to be overrun since Friday. Ghani met General Atta Mohammad Noor and Marshall Abdul Rashid Dostum among others and discussed the security situation in the North.

The Taliban on Tuesday captured the eighth provincial city in Afghanistan, in their push towards the country's capital Kabul. On Monday, the insurgents captured Aibak- the sixth provincial capital in Afghanistan and are eyeing to capture the biggest city in the region- Mazar-e-Sharif. Last week, the Taliban captured the Sheberghan city in Jawzjan- the second Afghan provincial capital that fell prey to the insurgents.

According to reports, the city is home to warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, who only returned to Afghanistan this week from medical treatment in Turkey.
Amid the ongoing US troops withdrawal, the Taliban is leaving no stone unturned to set its foot in the whole of Afghanistan. The unending incidents of violence and atrocities perpetrated by the Taliban have become a global concern.

Earlier, the Taliban captured the city of Zaranj, the provincial capital of Nimroz, making it the first provincial capital the Taliban insurgent group has snatched from the Afghan government.