Waiting for commercial operations to resume at Kabul airport to evacuate nationals

New Delhi, Aug 16 (UNI) In its first official response after the fall of the Ashraf Ghani government, India said on Monday that it is monitoring the situation in Afghanistan at high levels but the process of evacuating its nationals from there has been paused as operation of commercial flights from Kabul airport has been suspended.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, in a statement, also talked about India’s willingness to accommodate Afghan nationals, who have been on good terms with India.
“The security situation in Kabul has deteriorated significantly in the last few days. It is changing rapidly even as we speak,” the spokesman said, referring to the fast-paced developments in Afghanistan that saw President Ashraf Ghani surrendering power and the Taliban taking control on Sunday.
Bagchi said the situation in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover “is being monitored on a constant basis at high levels”.
The Government of India “will take all steps to ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals and our interests in Afghanistan,” he said.
“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 spokesman said.
“The Government of India 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,” the MEA said.
It said that the Indian embassy in Afghanistan 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,” it added.
The statement also said that India is 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 spokesman said.
“There are also a number of Afghans who have been our partners in the promotion of our mutual developmental, educational and people to people endeavours. We will stand by them,” the statement said.