News Analysis India

Tag: Afghanistan

  • India evacuates 50 diplomats, security personnel from Kandahar as Taliban captures new areas

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: 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.

    They said that 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. 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 Ithat ndia 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.

    ALSO READ | Afghan Taliban says it sees China as a ‘friend’, promises not to host Uyghur militants: Report

    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.

    India’s move to temporarily bring back its Indian staff came in view of Taliban fighters rapidly seizing control of a number of key areas in the region as well as in western Afghanistan triggering huge security concerns.

    On Tuesday, the Indian embassy in Kabul said there was no plan to close the embassy and the consulates in Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif. Two days back, the Ministry of External said India was carefully monitoring the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and its implications on the safety and security of Indian nationals. “Our response will be calibrated accordingly,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Bagchi had said at a media briefing on Thursday.

    Afghanistan witnessed a series of terror attacks in the last few weeks as the US looked to complete the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan by August-end, ending a nearly two-decade of its military presence in the war-ravaged country.

    There were reports that at least two foreign missions in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, have closed their operation in view of the escalating violence in the region.

    Amid growing concerns in India over the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, Afghan Ambassador Farid Mamundzay on Tuesday briefed Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on the situation in Afghanistan.

    The Indian embassy last week asked all Indians visiting, staying and working in Afghanistan to exercise the utmost caution with regard to their security and avoid all types of non-essential travel in view of rising incidents of violence in various parts of the country.

    In an advisory, the embassy said the security situation in Afghanistan remains “dangerous” and that terror groups have carried out a series of complex attacks including targeting civilians, adding Indian nationals additionally face a “serious threat” of kidnapping.

    India has been a major stakeholder in the peace and stability of Afghanistan. It has already invested nearly USD three 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, Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar visited India during which Jaishankar conveyed to him India’s long-term commitment towards a peaceful, sovereign and stable Afghanistan.

  • India evacuates 50 diplomats, security personnel from Kandahar as Taliban captures news areas

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: 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.

    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.

    India’s move to temporarily shut the consulate in Kandahar came in view of Taliban fighters rapidly seizing control of a number of key areas in the region as well as in western Afghanistan triggering huge security concerns.

    On Tuesday, the Indian embassy in Kabul said there was no plan to close the embassy and the consulates in Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif.

    ALSO READ | Afghan Taliban says it sees China as a ‘friend’, promises not to host Uyghur militants: Report

    Two days back, the Ministry of External said India was carefully monitoring the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and its implications on the safety and security of Indian nationals.

    “Our response will be calibrated accordingly,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing on Thursday.

    Afghanistan witnessed a series of terror attacks in the last few weeks as the US looked to complete the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan by August-end, ending a nearly two-decade of its military presence in the war-ravaged country.

    There were reports that at least two foreign missions in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, have closed their operation in view of escalating violence in the region.

    Amid growing concerns in India over the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, Afghan Ambassador Farid Mamundzay on Tuesday briefed Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on the situation in Afghanistan.

    The Indian embassy last week asked all Indians visiting, staying and working in Afghanistan to exercise the utmost caution with regard to their security and avoid all types of non-essential travel in view of rising incidents of violence in various parts of the country.

    In an advisory, the embassy said the security situation in Afghanistan remains “dangerous” and that terror groups have carried out a series of complex attacks including targeting civilians, adding Indian nationals additionally face a “serious threat” of kidnapping.

    India has been a major stakeholder in the peace and stability of Afghanistan.

    It has already invested nearly USD three 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, Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar visited India during which Jaishankar conveyed to him India’s long-term commitment towards a peaceful, sovereign and stable Afghanistan.

  • India could bring back nationals, officials from trouble-torn Afghanistan

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: India is weighing options to bring its nationals and officials back from troubled Afghanistan amid the worsening security situation there. The Taliban has already overrun a vast swathe of territory in the north without firing a bullet as scared Afghan soldiers fled to neighbouring Tajikistan, forcing countries like Russia and Turkey to close their consulates in the region and call back their diplomats.

    Other have reduced their services and are worriedly watching the situation that is bound to deteriorate further before the September 11 deadline for full withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan arrives. “Plans have been discussed for bringing back our citizens and officials present in different parts of that country and multiple agencies are in discussion for this purpose,” sources said. Since the proposal is in the planning stage, it is difficult to say right now if all nationals and officials would be brought back or if it would be partial evacuation.

    India has its embassy in Kabul and consulates in Kandahar and Mazar where it has over 500 staff. It closed two consulates in Herat and Jalalabad earlier. For the record, the embassy said: “Media reports on #India closing its Embassy & Consulates in Afghanistan are incorrect. @IndianEmbKabul, Consulates in Kandahar & Mazar are open, functioning. We DO HOWEVER continue to closely monitor the evolving security situation particularly around Kandahar & Mazar cities.”

    Matter to figure in talks with Russia 

    The Afghan issue will come up for discussion during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s three-day visit to Russia beginning Wednesday.

  • MHA invites citizenship applications for non-Muslim refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh in 13 districts

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Union Home Ministry has issued a notification under the 2009 rules of the Citizenship Act, 1955 asking non-Muslims belonging to Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan and residing in 13 districts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Punjab to apply for Indian citizenship.

    The fresh order is in no way connected to the Citizenship Amendment Act passed in 2019 as the rules under it are yet to be framed by the government.

    The Union home ministry on Friday night issued the notification for immediate implementation of the order under the Citizenship Act 1955 and Rules framed under the law in 2009.

    This benefit is extended to minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who fulfil all conditions applicable to any foreign citizen seeking citizenship by naturalisation after a minimum of 11 years of residency in India.

    Under the CAA, the period for this category was cut to five years.

    “In exercise of powers conferred under Section 16 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955), the central government hereby directs that powers exercisable by it for registration as citizen of India under Section 5, or for grant of certificate of naturalisation under section 6 of the Citizenship Act 1955 in respect of any person belonging to a minority community in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, residing in the districts mentioned and the states mentioned below,” the fresh notification said.

    People who are eligible to apply for Indian citizenship are those currently living in the districts of Morbi, Rajkot, Patan and Vadodara of Gujarat, Durg and Balodabazar in Chhattisgarh, Jalore, Udaipur, Pali, Barmer and Sirohi in Rajasthan, Faridabad in Haryana and Jalandhar in Punjab.

    “The application for registration as citizen of India or grant of certificate of naturalisation as citizen of India under the said rules (Citizenship Rules, 2009) shall be made by the applicant online,” the notification said.

    In 2016, the central government had in a similar step sought applications from members of these minority communities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh living in 16 districts in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

    The district magistrates of the districts and home secretaries of the seven states were allowed to receive and process the applications of these refugees for two years by the home ministry.

    In 2018, the said notification was extended for an indefinite period or till further order.

    With Friday night’s order, the total number of districts where such facility is available has gone up to 29 districts in nine states.

    The home ministry said the verification of the application is to be done simultaneously by the collector or Secretary (Home) at the district-level and the state-level and the application and the reports thereon shall be made accessible simultaneously to the Centre on an online portal.

    The collector or the secretary will make enquiries as considered necessary for ascertaining the suitability of the applicant and for that purpose forward the application online to such agencies for verification and comments.

    The instructions issued by the Centre from time-to-time in this regard shall be strictly complied with by state or union territory and district concerned, it said.

    “The comments of the agencies referred to in clause (C) are uploaded online by such agencies and accessible to the collector or the secretary, as the case may be, and the central government,” it said.

    The collector or the secretary on being satisfied with the suitability of the applicant, will grant him the citizenship of India by registration or naturalisation and issue a certificate of registration or naturalisation, as the case may be, duly printed from an online portal and signed by the collector or the secretary in the form as prescribed in the said rules, the notification said.

    The collector or the secretary shall maintain an online as well as physical register, in accordance with the said rules, containing the details of the person registered or naturalised as a citizen of India and furnish a copy thereof to the central government within seven days of such registration or naturalisation, it said.

    “This order shall come into force on the date of its publication in the official gazette and shall remain valid until further orders,” the notification said.

    When the CAA was passed in 2019, there were widespread protests in different parts of the country and communal riots erupted in Northeast Delhi in early 2020 after clashes between those opposing and supporting the law.

    According to the CAA, Indian citizenship will be given to non-Muslim persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan — Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian — who had come to India till December 31, 2014.

  • As always, India will stand with the people of Afghanistan: S Jaishankar to Afghan counterpart 

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday conveyed to his Afghan counterpart Mohammad Hanif Atmar that India will always stand with the people of Afghanistan.

    Jaishankar said the role of neighbours in the Afghan peace process figured in his conversation with Atmar.

    In the telephonic talk, the two foreign ministers discussed the evolving situation in Afghanistan following the announcement by the US to withdraw its forces from the conflict-ridden country by September 11.

    In a tweet, Jaishankar described his conversation with Atmar as “good”.

    “Good conversation with FM @MHaneefAtmar of Afghanistan on recent developments. Discussed the role of neighbours in the Afghan peace process. As always, India will stand with the people of Afghanistan,” he said.

    Good conversation with FM @MHaneefAtmar of Afghanistan on recent developments. Discussed the role of neighbours in the Afghan peace process. As always, India will stand with the people of Afghanistan.
    — Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 17, 2021

    In an address at the Raisina Dialogue on Friday, Jaishankar described the US decision as a “big step” and said it is going to take Afghanistan in a certain direction and that it would be important for the stakeholders to work together to ensure that the direction is the right one.

    In a significant announcement, US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said American troops will leave Afghanistan by September 11 that would coincide with the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the US in 2001.

    The US has lost more than 2,000 personnel since 2001 in the war that was triggered by the terror attacks carried out by al-Qaeda.

    There have been renewed global efforts to bring lasting peace to Afghanistan.

    ALSO READ | Political settlement in Afghanistan must be inclusive: India after US announces withdrawal of troops

    Russia recently organised a conference in Moscow where all major stakeholders were invited to brainstorm over ways to move forward in the peace process.

    India has been a major stakeholder in the peace and stability in Afghanistan. It has already invested USD two billion in aid and reconstruction activities in the country. India has been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process that is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled.

    Last month, Afghan Foreign Minister Atmar visited India during which Jaishankar conveyed to him India’s long-term commitment towards a peaceful, sovereign and stable Afghanistan.

  • Ajinkya Rahane equals Mahendra Singh Dhoni

    Ajinkya Rahane has matched former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni by winning the first three Tests continuously under his captaincy. After Virat Kohli returned home due to the birth of his first child in January, Rahane has captained India for the remaining three Tests of the series against Australia and won India by eight wickets in the second Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. . With this victory, India have equalized 1–1 in the four-Test series.

    Rahane thus became the second Indian captain to win the first three Tests under his captaincy. Earlier, this achievement was achieved by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Rahane had earlier defeated Australia in Dharamsala by eight wickets in 2016-17 and Afghanistan by an innings and 262 runs in Bengaluru. The Indian captain scored a century in the first innings in this match, for which he became the man of the match. This was Rahane’s 12th Test century. The interesting fact is that India have not lost a match in Rahane’s 12 centuries. In these 12 centuries in Rahane, India have won nine matches and played three draws. Rahane has also won India in the three centuries he has scored in ODIs.

  • Virat Kohli and Ellyse Perry named ICC players of the decade

    The awards, held in place of the usual end-of-year ceremony due to the effects of Covid-19 on the fixture calendar, were primarily decided by a panel of former players and experts, with a 10 per cent weighting on a public vote.

    Kohli claimed the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for his performances across all formats and also scooped the ODI cricketer of the year, while Perry celebrated a hat-trick by taking the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for women’s cricketer of the decade alongside the ODI and T20 prizes

    Australia’s Steve Smith and Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan prevented Kohli from a similar clean sweep, winning the Test and T20 gongs respectively.

    Kohli was also named captain of the ICC’s Test team of the decade, and has been named the captain of the Test team of the year in each of the past three years.

  • Afghanistan Calls Out Pakistan On Taliban Presence, Says ‘it Will Challenge Peace’

    Following the emergence of a video showing Taliban deputy leader Abdul Ghani Baradar addressing some members of the militant group in Karachi, Afghanistan Foreign Ministry on December 25 said that ‘Taliban presence in Pakistan will challenge Afghan peace’. In a statement, Afghanistan also said that the presence of the insurgent group is a “clear violation of Afghanistan’s national sovereignty” and it will further be the reason of instability in the war-torn country as well as the peace process. 

    The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Afghanistan also called on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government to prevent insurgents from using Islamabad against Kabul and ceasing “terrorist sanctuaries”. Afghanistan Foreign Ministry also noted that Pakistan had pledged to employ its means to reduce the violence and establish a ceasefire. Even though Kabul expressed gratitude for the same, but said with that with “deepest regret and concern” the Taliban leaders were spotted alongside Pakistani officials. 

  • Trump Threatens To Veto $740 Million Defense Spending Bill, Cites China’s Gains

    US President Donald Trump on December 13 threatened to veto the Defense Spending Bill dispatched by the senate with a veto-proof margin of 84-13 after it made to the US commander-in-chief’s desk. Citing China as the ‘biggest winner’ of the USD 740 million defense bill which additionally seeks to ramp down the US troops pulling out of Afghanistan, Trump warned that he would block the legislation passed by the congress. “The biggest winner of our new defense bill is China, I will veto,” Trump tweeted. While the Republican-controlled Senate passed the bill, the Democrats approved the bill by 335-78 vote, passing the bill with more than 2-3rd majority that overrides US President’s veto. Meanwhile, Trump could veto the bill within 10 days or it will automatically become the law.

    Earlier, the US president had launched tweets, saying, that will block the bill if it was sent to his table without repealing section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The section provides immunity to the social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter to regulate content from third-party publishers. In the bill, Trump had also cited objections about renaming the US military bases for Confederate military officers.

  • India makes its move, invites Boris Johnson to be Republic Day chief guest

    UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to be the chief guest at 2021 Republic day with Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally inviting him during their November 27 telephonic conversation. Johnson, on his part, has invited PM Modi to the G-7 summit in the United Kingdom next year, people familiar with the development said. The last British prime minister at the Republic Day parade was John Major in 1993.

    While New Delhi is tight-lipped on the issue, diplomats feel that it is a well-thought-out strategy on part of PM Modi to invite his UK counterpart with a hard Brexit on the horizon and London uneasy about a special relationship with the US under incoming Joe Biden administration.

    In his November 27 tweet, PM Modi said that he had an excellent discussion with his friend UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on an ambitious road-map for India-UK ties in the next decade.

    “ We agreed to work towards a quantum leap in our cooperation in all areas — trade and investments, defence and security, climate change and fighting Covid-19,” PM Modi said in his tweet.

    People based in the UK who are familiar with the matter said the conversation between the two prime ministers was very positive, particularly with PM Johnson offering a free trade agreement with India and deepening cooperation on climate change issues. The two leaders discussed ways to further cement the partnership and put up a strong anti-Covid -19 response.

    While the UK is aspiring to become Global Britain from Great Britain, the January 1 Brexit will put serious pressure on London as the European Union accounted for 47% of UK’s total trade; 43% of UK exports and 52% imports. With Europe prepared for a hard border and incoming US president Joe Biden earlier expressing his apprehensions about Brexit, the UK is facing uncertainty on trade issues.

    From the Indian point of view, it is necessary for New Delhi to engage London as the latter is part of P-5 and still has the ears of the US on Afghanistan and Pakistan. The UK also has a strong political lobby from Mirpur in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), which often steers its course on issues like Jammu and Kashmir.