India evacuates nationals from Kandahar after situation worsens due to Taliban

New Delhi, July 12: With Taliban forces intensifying their hold within a few kilometers of Kandahar , India has evacuated Indian staff and personnel from its consulate in southern Afghanistan city. The evacuation has been carried out in view of the "intense fighting near Kandahar city", the government said.

 

 

“India is closely monitoring the evolving security situation in Afghanistan. The safety and security of our personnel is paramount,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. The official spokesperson of the Ministry, Arindam Bagchi, said on Sunday that the evacuation was a “temporary measure”, and that the Kandahar consulate had not been shut down.

 

 

“The Consulate General of India in Kandahar has not been closed. However, due to the intense fighting near Kandahar city, India-based personnel have been brought back for the time being. I want to emphasise that this is a purely temporary measure until the situation stabilises. The Consulate continues to operate through our local staff members,” the spokesperson said.

 

 

This decision comes after there has been rapid advance of Taliban fighters, who have been controlling key areas in southern and western Afghanistan, triggering grave security concerns. Last Tuesday, the Indian embassy in Kabul had said there were no plans to shut the embassy or the consulates in Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif.

 

 

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi will be headed to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, this week for a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). They are expected to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. Jaishankar had travelled to Russia and Iran, where he discussed the situation in Afghanistan with counterparts in those countries.

 

India has major stakes in ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan. It has invested nearly $3 billion in aid and reconstruction activities in the country. India has been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, and Afghan-controlled. In March, Jaishankar had conveyed to the visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar India’s long-term commitment to a peaceful, sovereign, and stable Afghanistan.