A special aircraft of the Indian Air Force was sent on Saturday to bring back the Indian diplomats, officials and other staff
Afghan militia gather with their weapons to support Afghanistan security forces against the Taliban, in Afghan warlord and former Mujahideen Ismail Khan’s house in Herat. Pic/AFP
India has pulled out around 50 diplomats and security personnel from its consulate in Kandahar in Afghanistan in view of the deteriorating security situation and the Taliban gaining control of new areas around the southern Afghan city, people familiar with the development said on Sunday.
ADVERTISEMENT
A special aircraft of the Indian Air Force was sent on Saturday to bring back the Indian diplomats, officials and other staff members including a group of Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel, they said.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India-based personnel have been brought back for the time being in view of intense fighting near Kandahar city. Describing the pull out of the India-based personnel as a temporary measure, he said the consulate continues to operate through the local staff members.
He said India is closely monitoring the evolving security situation in Afghanistan. “The safety and security of our personnel is paramount. 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,” Bagchi said. He was replying to a media query on the issue.
“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,” Bagchi said. He said arrangements are being made to ensure continued delivery of visa and consular services through the Indian embassy in Kabul. “An important partner of Afghanistan, India remains committed to a peaceful, sovereign and democratic Afghanistan,” the spokesperson said.
‘US withdrawal happened in haste’
All regional stakeholders expected a “responsible withdrawal” of the US forces from Afghanistan, a top Pakistani military official said. “The responsible withdrawal was supposed to be after a peaceful transition, but the withdrawal happened in a bit hasty manner,” Xinhua news agency quoted Director General of the ISPR, Major General Babar Iftikhar as saying.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
