Team News Riveting
New Delhi, August 22
An Indian Air Force (IAF) special repatriation flight today evacuated 168 people including 107 Indian nationals from Kabul.
Afghanistan Member of Parliament Narinder Singh Khalsa, who was in the fight that landed at Hindon Airbase in Ghaziabad, burst into tears on arrival. “I feel like crying…Everything that was built in the last 20 years is now finished. It’s zero now,” he said.
The other passengers heaved a sigh of relief after touching down given the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan after Taliban takeover.
Earlier, the first batch of 135 Indians who were evacuated from Afghanistan’s Kabul to Doha over the past days were repatriated to India last night. Indian Embassy in Doha, Qatar provided consular and logistical assistance to ensure safe return.
In a tweet, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that an Air India flight carrying 87 Indians departed from Tajikistan for New Delhi last night. Two Nepalese nationals were also evacuated. He added that more evacuation flights will follow.
India is airlifting its nationals through Dushanbe in Tajikistan and Qatar. Indian Air Force has already evacuated around 180 passengers including India’s Ambassador to Afghanistan. The External Affairs Ministry has urged all Indian nationals in Afghanistan requiring assistance to contact its Special Afghanistan Cell immediately. It has set up the Special Afghanistan Cell to coordinate repatriation and other requests from Afghanistan.
