News Analysis India

Tag: Afghanistan

  • Afghan-returned ITBP canines to now serve in anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Three combat canines who were part of the ITBP commando security contingent in Afghanistan will soon be deployed with the border guarding forces’ anti-Naxal operations unit operating in Chhattisgarh, officials said on Wednesday.

    The three dogs — Roobi (a female Belgian Malinois breed), Maya (female Labrador) and Bobby (male Doberman) — have been sent to a special dog kennel at the ITBP camp in south-west Delhi’s Chhawla area after they landed at the Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad on Tuesday onboard a special military evacuation flight from the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

    The dogs served for about three years with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) commando contingent that guarded the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan capital Kabul and its diplomatic staff.

    “The three dogs detected many improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and protected the lives of not only Indian diplomats but also the local Afghan civilians working in the embassy. They will soon be deployed with ITBP units undertaking anti-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh,” an official source said.

    The dogs were raised and trained at the ITBP national training centre for dogs (NTCD) in Bhanu near Chandigarh before being sent for the overseas duty.

    The dogs were part of the 150 member Indian contingent, including 99 ITBP commandos, that took an IAF aircraft on Tuesday morning from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul to reach Hindon via a refuelling halt at Jamnagar in Gujarat.

    With this de-induction, the entire strength of the force, that is primarily tasked to guard the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, has been withdrawn from that country including all the diplomats and Embassy staffers.

    India had deployed over 300 ITBP commandos for securing its Embassy, consulates and diplomats in Afghanistan. It was first deployed to secure the premises of the Kabul Embassy and its residents in November, 2002.

    It later sent its additional detachments to similarly guard Indian consulates located in Jalalabad, Kandhar, Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat.

    The detachments from the consulates have already been withdrawn after they were shut recently due to the current crisis in the country and also due to negligible footfall as the coronavirus pandemic gripped the globe.

    Some of the commandos came back from Kabul in earlier flights.

  • Efforts on for safe return of people from Uttarakhand stranded in Afghanistan: CM Dhami

    By PTI

    DEHRADUN: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said all efforts are being made by the Uttarakhand government to ensure the safe return of people from the state stranded in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover of that country.

    “People from Uttarakhand stranded in Afghanistan will soon return to their homes safely,” Dhami said.

    He also spoke to the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday requesting it to take all necessary steps in this regard, according to an official release.

    “We are in constant touch with the Centre. It is taking all steps to ensure that each Indian stranded in Afghanistan comes back home safely,” the Uttarakhand chief minister said.

    A large number of people from Uttarakhand who had gone to Afghanistan to earn a livelihood are likely to be stranded there. 

  • CCS takes stock of evacuation from Afghanistan

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: With India managing to evacuate its entire embassy staff from Kabul in what foreign minister S Jaishankar described as a “difficult and complicated exercise”, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), the apex body on national security, met on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take stock of the situation.

    Two C-17 heavy-lift aircraft of the IAF flew in from Kabul with a total of 190 people, one landing in Jamnagar in Gujarat and the other at the Hindon airbase.  The C-17 that landed at IAF’s Hindon airbase around 5 pm, had around 150 people, including diplomats, officials, security personnel and some other stranded Indians. Besides, France evacuated 21 Indians from Kabul to Paris.

    The evacuation happened only after Jaishankar called up US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, sources said. Sources also said Modi was personally monitoring the evacuation and instructed officials to make arrangements for the food and security of the returning people.

    At the CCS meeting,  Modi directed all concerned ministries to keep a close track of the evolving situation, an official said. Those present included Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla. 

    There were also reports of evacuated Ambassador to Afghanistan Rudrendra Tandon briefing the meeting.India has already opened an emergency e-visa facility for Afghans and clarified that repatriation will be done irrespective of religion, the Union ministry of home affairs announced on Tuesday.

    Meanwhile SOS calls kept coming in, with the Kerala government requesting help to bring back 41 Malayalis stranded in Kabul. Some messages claimed the Taliban were verifying their  identity and taking away their passports and other important documents.

  • Government doing everything for evacuation of Indians from Afghanistan: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi

    By PTI

    HUBBALI: Union Minister for Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday said the Government is doing everything for total evacuation of Indian citizens stuck in Afghanistan after the Taliban asserted control over the nation.

    “Developments in Afghanistan are quite worrisome. The Indian government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar will strive to bring the last Indian citizen stuck there,” Joshi told reporters here.

    He added that the government is trying to bring the remaining Indian citizens stuck there.

    ALSO READ| PM chairs meeting with Doval, Foreign Secretary Shringla; India completes evacuation of diplomats

    “The entire system has collapsed there (in Afghanistan). Flight services are hit and aeroplanes are not flying. Not only airport but also the air space is jammed. In this scenario, the Indian government is doing whatever best it can do. We are very concerned about individual citizens,” Joshi said.

    Stating that the government of India is closely monitoring the developments, Joshi said the Government led by Modi is capable of handling all kinds of situations.

    ALSO READ| India is self-sufficient to face threat of cross border terrorism, says Pralhad Joshi

    To buttress his point, he said no terrorist activity has taken place in any part of India except for “things happening” in Jammu and Kashmir unlike earlier when terrorist activities were happening in many parts of India including Hubballi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Guwahati and Hyderabad.

    “Today not a single incident is taking place. The reason is that we follow zero tolerance towards terrorism. Accordingly, we have made our preparations whatever is necessary and we are doing everything to put the terrorist organisations in their place,” Joshi said.

    ALSO READ| What we know and what’s next after Taliban take over Afghanistan

    The minister said for the past seven years, the Government is monitoring “every development at the micro-level” and, hence, there was no need to panic.

  • IAF’s C-17 aircraft from Kabul lands at Jamnagar, leaves for Delhi after refuelling

    By PTI

    JAMNAGAR: An Indian Air Force plane with 120 people, including the Indian ambassador and staff at the embassy in Kabul, landed on Tuesday at Jamnagar airbase in Gujarat from Afghanistan, an official said. The C-17 aircraft touched down at the IAF airbase at 11:15 am en route to the Hindon airbase near Delhi.

    #WATCH | Evacuated Indians from Kabul, Afghanistan chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ after landing in Jamnagar, Gujarat. pic.twitter.com/IqvESz79IO
    — ANI (@ANI) August 17, 2021
    It took off for Hindon shortly after 3 pm after refuelling, the official said. The aircraft had taken off from Kabul carrying Indian personnel as part of the emergency evacuation because of the prevailing situation in the Afghan capital following its takeover by the Taliban.

    Immediately after passengers on board the C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft deplaned, they were greeted by people present on the tarmac, the official said. Many passengers were garlanded and many others were seen chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’.

    Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Rudrendra Tandon told reporters in Jamnagar that the situation in Kabul is complex and “quite fluid” now and that Indians stuck in the city will be brought back home when the commercial flight services resume.

    “Happy to be back home safely and securely. We are a very large mission. We are a mission of 192 personnel who were evacuated from Afghanistan literally within three days in a very orderly fashion in two phases,” he said.

    Tandon, who assumed charge as Indian ambassador in Afghanistan in August last year, said the embassy assisted and even gave shelter to many distressed Indians following the fast-changing situation in Kabul.

    “We are continuously monitoring the situation because there are still some Indian citizens who are there. That is why Air India will continue to run its commercial services to Kabul,” he said.

    “Your welcome has an impact on all of us. Thank you to the Indian Air Force who flew us out under conditions that are not normal,” Tandon, said, adding continuing to work for the welfare of the Afghan people is very much on India’s mind This is the second evacuation flight.

    On Monday, another C-17 aircraft had evacuated around 40 people including some Indian embassy staff from Kabul before the operations at the airport in the city were suspended. “Those on board were given lunch after landing at Jamnagar,” Gujarat minister of state for food and civil supply Dharmendrasinh Jadeja said.

    Gujarat government said in a release that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “personally looking after the evacuation of Indian nationals and officials stranded in Afghanistan” after the Taliban took over the war-ravaged country.

    H’ble PM Shri @NarendraModi Ji led government is working tirelessly to evacuate our countrymen stuck in Afghanistan. In one such rescue operation, IAF plane C-17 on its way to New Delhi lands in Jamnagar for refuelling. 150 Indians are welcomed home warmly at Jamnagar! pic.twitter.com/pNZavR36NV
    — Poonamben Maadam (@PoonambenMaadam) August 17, 2021
    “H’ble PM Shri @NarendraModi Ji led government is working tirelessly to evacuate our countrymen stuck in Afghanistan. In one such rescue operation, IAF plane C-17 on its way to New Delhi lands in Jamnagar for refuelling. 150 Indians are welcomed home warmly at Jamnagar!” tweeted Jamnagar BJP MP Poonamben Maadam.

    WATCH | Taliban shuts Kabul airport as thousands try to flee Afghanistan desperately:

  • IITs making efforts to help out Afghan students currently stuck in Afghanistan 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Various Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are making efforts to help out their students from Afghanistan who are currently stuck there following the capture of power by Taliban.

    India on Tuesday announced that it will issue an emergency e-visa to Afghan nationals who want to come to the country in view of the prevailing situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban captured power there.

    “In this hour of crisis, IIT Delhi stands in solidarity with our students and alumni from Afghanistan. We are doing everything possible to get the students to return to the campus. Let’s give them hope,” said IIT Delhi Director V Ramgopal Rao.

    The institute has also announced helpline numbers for its Afghan students and alumni.

    Currently, 17 Afghan students are enrolled in various programmes at IIT Delhi and only one of them is in Delhi as the classes were being conducted online in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “We are in touch with them and trying to provide all support. Unfortunately, till the visas are sorted we cannot get them here but we are providing them with all the documentation needed so as soon as the situation improves a bit and the embassy is functional, their visas can be expedited,” Naveen Garg, Dean of International Affairs at IIT Delhi, told PTI.

    “We are also opening admission process for prospective candidates from Afghanistan who can come to India provided they meet our criteria,” he added.

    Three Afghan students enrolled at IIT Madras are also stuck there.

    “Three of our students are currently stuck in Afghanistan and the Office of Global Engagement at IIT Madras has issued letters to help them apply for a visa. The students had informed us that the situation is difficult with long queues at the consulate. Once they obtain their visas there is a further hurdle of getting passage to India by air. Reports from the airport there and news on commercial air travel have not been encouraging,” an IIT Madras spokesperson told PTI.

    “In the event that students are unable to come to the campus, we will offer them opportunities to continue their programs online with added support as needed from faculty to ensure that they are able to keep up with the pace despite disruptions.

    However, it is our hope that the situation will stabilise and the students will be able to further their education at the best institutes in India in person,” he added.

    The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay has also allowed Afghan students to return to its campus.

    Several students enrolled at IIT Bombay were requesting the institute to approve their return.

    “We offered admission to quite a few students from Afghanistan in the master’s program this year under scholarships from ICCR. Because of online instructions, they were participating in the class from home. However, due to rapidly deteriorating condition in their homeland, they wanted to come out of their country and join the hostels on campus,” said IIT Bombay Director Subhasis Chaudhuri.

    Officials at IIT Guwahati said there are no Afghan students currently enrolled at the institute but they look forward to welcoming them in next batch.

    “While IIT Guwahati currently does not have any Afghan students, we are happy to welcome Afghan students who may qualify for courses in our institute in the upcoming batches,” an institute spokesperson said.

    India on Tuesday brought back home the Indian ambassador and its staff at the embassy in Kabul in a heavy-lift military transport aircraft in view of the deteriorating security situation in the Afghan capital, two days after its take over by the Taliban.

    The US military had taken control of the security at the airport on Monday after thousands of desperate people converged there in the hope of getting on an evacuation flight and leave the country.

    Hours after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan on Sunday, the Taliban took control of Kabul, capturing power nearly 20 years after a US-led military invasion ousted it in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

  • India failed to draw up plan well in advance to evacuate citizens from Afghanistan: Sitaram Yechury 

    By PTI

    COIMBATORE: CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday accused the Centre of failing to draw up a plan well in advance to evacuate Indians from Afghanistan before the Taliban gained control over the country.

    “The government should have planned the evacuation much earlier before the Taliban took over Afghanistan, as the air space was totally closed down after it,” he told reporters here.

    Demanding that the government provide proper information about the steps taken to ensure the safety of Indians, he said many countries had evacuated their citizens earlier, anticipating what was going to happen in another 10 days.

    India on Tuesday brought back home the Indian ambassador and its staff at the embassy in Kabul in a military transport aircraft in view of the deteriorating security situation in the Afghan capital, two days after its takeover by the Taliban.

    Yechury, here to address the two-day Party State Committee meeting, alleged that India was seen as a ‘subordinate ally’ of the United States, “which should not have gone to that country.

    ” On the Pegasus snooping issue, he said the Centre’s response in the Supreme Court was a ‘clear admission that it has used the spyware.

    The Supreme Court on Monday said it cannot compel the ‘reluctant’ Centre to file a detailed affidavit on pleas seeking information if Pegasus spyware was used to snoop on certain citizens and steps it took to probe the allegations amid vehement claims that there was ‘nothing to hide ” and it will set up a panel to examine all aspects related to the issue.

    Yechury also flayed the Centre’s move to observe August 14 as ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’ and asked the Government to focus on strengthening the Constitution further, as the country had adopted a secular and democratic Constitution (after partition.

    The CPI(M) would organise nation-wide protests along with Opposition parties next month on various demands, including effectively controlling the pandemic, he said.

    Yechury also demanded that the Centre withdraw the duty hike on petroleum products.

  • India should respond to Afghan developments in ‘humane manner’: HD Deve Gowda

    By PTI

    BENGALURU: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Tuesday said India will have to respond to the developments in Afghanistan in a “humane manner”, besides developing an independent policy of fostering friendship and peace in our neighbourhood.

    “Reports from Afghanistan show how fear and uncertainty have gripped the country. It is a difficult moment for India and the entire region. We have to respond in a humane manner besides developing an independent policy of fostering friendship and peace in our neighbourhood,” Gowda tweeted.

    India on Tuesday brought back home the Indian ambassador and its staff at the embassy in Kabul in a heavy-lift military transport aircraft in view of the deteriorating security situation in the Afghan capital, two days after its take over by the Taliban.

    Hours after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan on Sunday, the Taliban took control of Kabul, capturing power nearly 20 years after a US-led military invasion ousted it in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

  • Shashi Tharoor doubts presence of two Malayali Taliban in their victory celebration video

    By PTI

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday shared a video of a group of Taliban celebrating its victory in Afghanistan in his twitter account in which gun wielding men are heard speaking in Malayalam.

    “It sounds as if there are at least two Malayali Taliban her, one who says ‘samsarikkette’ around the 8-second mark & another who understands him!”, Tharoor wrote on his microblogging site after sharing the video posted on August 15.

    The video showed the Taliban member weeping in joy as they reached outside Kabul, hours ahead of falling of the Afghanistan capital in their hands.

  • IAF aircraft carrying 120 Indian officials including ambassador takes off from Kabul

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: An IAF aircraft on Tuesday left from Kabul to India carrying the Indian ambassador and other personnel as part of the emergency evacuation in view of the prevailing situation in the Afghan capital following its take over by the Taliban, people familiar with the development said.

    External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said it was decided that the ambassador in Kabul and his Indian staff will move to India immediately in view of the prevailing circumstances.

    “In view of the prevailing circumstances, it has been decided that our Ambassador in Kabul and his Indian staff will move to India immediately,” Bagchi tweeted.

    An Indian Air Force (IAF) C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft brought back some personnel to India on Monday and Tuesday’s flight is the second one.