'Provide all help to our Afghan brothers, sisters': PM Modi in CCS meet

New Delhi, Aug 18: Amid the escalating tensions in Afghanistan, PM Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) and instructed all concerned officials to undertake all necessary measures on the current situation and on the evacuation of Indian nationals and vulnerable Afghans, especially the minorities.

 

According to the reports, PM Modi said, "India must not only protect our citizens, but we must also provide refuge to those Sikh and Hindu minorities who want to come to India, and we must also provide all possible help to our Afghan brothers and sisters who are looking towards India for assistance."

 

During the meet, a detailed briefing was given to the Prime minister on the current security and political situation in Afghanistan, including the recent evacuation of Indian officials, members of the Indian media, and others. The initial plan was to evacuate Indian officials was from Kabul from August 17 to 21 but this was preponed as Kabul fell as the Taliban entered the city.

 

 

The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The External Affairs Minister is out of the country and hence did not attend the meeting. The meeting was also attended by senior officials including Principal Secretary to PM PK Mishra, NSA Ajit Doval and Cabinet Secretary Rajeev Gauba.

 

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and India's Ambassador to Afghanistan Rudrendra Tandon were also present at the meeting. Ambassador Tandon was on the evacuation flight from Kabul that landed in Jamnagar earlier today.

 

 

India opened emergency E visas for Afghans desirous of coming to India. A 24x7 Special Afghanistan Cell is functional to coordinate the repatriation and requests from Afghanistan. India aims to give visas to Afghan officials who worked for India, members of the civil society, and journalists.

 

 

Indian mission in Kabul had issued four security advisories asking Indians to leave the country and in the latest release by MEA it asked those already in Afghanistan to return immediately while others were advised not to travel there.

 

Taliban entered Kabul on Sunday and took control of the presidential palace. On the other hand, the Indian government has been closely monitoring all developments in Afghanistan. It has also been issuing periodic advisories for the safety and security of Indian nationals in Afghanistan including calling for their immediate return to India.