The Foreign Ministry also stated that India also stands for Afghans who have been partners in the promotion of mutual development, reports Asian Lite News
India is in constant touch with the representatives of Afghan Sikh and Hindu communities, said the Ministry of External Affairs on Monday asserting that the country will facilitate repatriation to India of those who wish to leave Afghanistan.
The ministry also stated that India also stands for Afghans who have been partners in the promotion of mutual development.
Commenting on the prevailing situation in Afghanistan, the Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “The security situation in Kabul has deteriorated significantly in the last few days. It is changing rapidly even as we speak.”
He said that the government has been closely monitoring all developments in Afghanistan.
“We have been issuing periodic advisories for the safety and security of Indian nationals in that country, including calling for their immediate return to India,” he said.
He also said that they had circulated emergency contact numbers and had also been extending assistance to community members. “We are aware that there are still some Indian nationals in Afghanistan who wish to return and we are in touch with them,” he said.
About Afghan Sikh and Hindu communities, he said, “We are in constant touch with the representatives of Afghan Sikh and Hindu communities. We will facilitate repatriation to India of those who wish to leave Afghanistan.”
The officer also said that there are also a number of Afghans who have been Indian partners in the promotion of mutual developmental, educational and people to people endeavours. “We will stand by them,” he said.
He informed that commercial operations from Kabul airport have been suspended today. “This has forced a pause in our repatriation efforts. We are awaiting the resumption of flights to restart the process,” the officer added.
The situation in Afghanistan is being monitored on a constant basis at high levels and the government will take all steps to ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals and our interests in Afghanistan, he assured.
Several Sikh families are stuck there and are looking for safe passage out of the war ravaged country. One of them is Sanmeet Singh, an Afghan Sikh, whose family members are in Afghanistan and they have no idea how to return to India.
Sanmeet Singh has requested the Indian government to evacuate his family members stuck in Afghanistan as soon as possible.
Sanmeet Singh, who came to the Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi on Monday to rectify a mistake in his passport, claimed, “after the embassy got him to get his passport re-issued, the name was spelt wrongly. The embassy has not given any word on correcting the name in the passport.”
Sanmeet Singh, who lives in Tilak Nagar, Delhi, has appealed to the Government of India to evacuate his family members from Afghanistan soon.
He told , “I just want to make this appeal to the Government of India, that 80 to 90 Sikhs who are stuck there should be taken out and sent to Delhi as soon as possible.”
“They are presently put up at Kardeparwan Gurdwara in Kabul, Afghanistan is in a very difficult situation,” he said.
He added, “If I had left about a week ago for Kabul, I would have brought my family members back to India. Several of my relatives are stuck there.”
While talking to the media, Sanmeet broke down as he prayed for the safety of his family.
The Afghanistan embassy in Delhi saw a stream of people on Monday morning, some came to tell their problems to the embassy authorities and some wanted information about their family members.
Reports say thousands of people have stormed the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, in the hope of getting out of the war-torn country. There is no flight in or out of Kabul airport as of now.
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