India's evacuation mission from Afghanistan named 'Operation Devi Shakti'; evacuates over 500 people

New Delhi, Aug 24: India on Tuesday gave a name to its operation to evacuate its citizens from war-torn Afghanistan. External affairs minister S Jaishankar called it 'Operation Devi Shakti' and saluted the efforts of Indian Air Force and Air India.

 

 

Taking to Twitter, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said: "Op Devi Shakti continues. 78 evacuees from Kabul arrive via Dushanbe. Salute @IAF_MCC, @AirIndiain and #TeamMEA for their untiring efforts. #DeviShakti."

 

 

His tweet came hours after 78 people, including 25 Indian nationals, were brought to New Delhi from Tajikistan's Dushanbe in a special Air India flight on Tuesday. They were flown out of Taliban-controlled Kabul to Dushanbe in an aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) a day before. On Monday, Indian authorities on Monday evacuated 75 Sikhs amid the deteriorating situation in war-torn Afghanistan.

 

 

Even three copies (swaroop) of the Sikh sacred scripture Guru Granth Sahib was also brought back, which were received by Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri. He expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for carrying out rescue operations from Afghanistan and said the government is in constant touch with the remaining people over there.

 

"I want to start by thanking Prime Minister who made it possible to carry out these rescue operations to bring our brethren who are in difficult circumstances there (Afghanistan)," said Puri. Up till now, more than 500 individuals from Kabul have been evacuated that covered Indian citizens as well as Afghan nationals including Sikhs and Hindus of Afghanistan.

 

 

Afghanistan's situation is worsening as people are in rush to leave the nation after the Taliban seized control last week. On August 15, the country's government fell soon after President Ashraf Ghani left the nation. Hundreds of Indian nationals have to be taken out of Kabul which is now under the Taliban's control. India is airlifting its citizens through Dushanbe in Tajikistan and Qatar. The IAF has already evacuated around 180 passengers including its Ambassador to Afghanistan and all other diplomats.