An Indian embassy employee in Afghanistan who left his country and reached Delhi on Sunday told of the terrible experience a group of Indians and Afghans had to go through before boarding their flight to India.
“The Taliban took us to a security station, a kind of police station. They registered our names and asked if we were Indians or Afghans. They don’t want Afghan citizens to leave Afghanistan. They say things are fine, but we know the reality. After a few clarifications and negotiations, we were allowed to go, ”he said.
The person who did not want to be identified because they feared a backlash because their family is still in Afghanistan was one of the 168 passengers who reached Delhi on Sunday on board a C17 Globemaster.
The evacuees after reaching Delhi from Kabul. (Photo: India Today / Abhishek Bhalla)
Babies in their parents’ arms, old people in wheelchairs and young children escorted by their parents have finally made it to India after a harrowing 24 hours in Kabul. Many of them were stuck and also interrogated by the Taliban before being safely evacuated early Sunday.
With the situation in Afghanistan still grim, those who made it out of the country were relieved. This is the group that struggled to get to the airport and even had to negotiate with the Taliban before they were given free access to the flight.
There was reports that 150 Indians were abducted by the Taliban on Saturday, but it was later clarified that these reports were false.
The evacuees wait at Hindon Air Base on Sunday. (Photo: India Today / Abhishek Bhalla)
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Dark future
Hordes of people stand in front of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, hoping to leave the country safely as they face an uncertain future
“There are thousands of people outside the airport. The situation remains fragile, people feel unsafe when moving, especially those who have worked with the government, ”said the Indian embassy official.
“Afghans like me who worked in the Indian embassy feel insecure. They recently beat up some of our Afghan workers and harassed people who worked for the embassy there, ”he added.
He went on to tell the ground situation and said, “If you have a good car, they’ll snap it up. If you’ve worked in a good position or were a government employee, that’s a bigger problem. “
The people of Afghanistan who were evacuated from India on Sunday are waiting at Hindon Air Base. (Photo: India Today / Abhishek Bhalla)
He said there have been many incidents where outsiders entered people’s homes on behalf of the Taliban. “They always wear civilian clothes, they have no uniform or anything. They raid houses in the name of the Taliban, take jewelry and money with them,” said the embassy employee.
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50 Afghans reached India
The C17 Globemaster, the Indian Air Force’s jumbo transport aircraft that landed at Hindon Air Base on the outskirts of Delhi on Sunday morning, evacuated 50 Afghans along with 150 Indians from Kabul.
All in all more than 300 people were brought in on Sunday a. Apart from the Air Force planes, commercial flights were operated from Tajikistan and Doha, where many Indians had previously been abducted from Afghanistan.
An Indian official checks the evacuees’ documents at Hindon Air Base. (Photo: India Today / Abhishek Bhalla)
Sikh MPs among evacuees
In the group that came to the Air Force Flight there were also two Sikh MPs from Afghanistan. One of them, Narendra Singh Khalsa, could not hold back his tears as he described the situation in his home country.
“They came to our house and took everything with them. It’s a serious situation out there. All profits of 20 years are lost, now they are zero again, ”said Narendra Singh Khalsa.
The other MP, Anarkali Kaur, said she had been in her office until last week, but everything had changed in two hours. “Everyone, from the common people to human rights activists, faces problems. We ask the Indian government to help all those who are still stuck. We are grateful to the Prime Minister of India and the Indian Government for all the help and for coming here, ”she said.
The mission to evacuate the remaining Indians is likely to continue in the coming days. So far, over 500 Indians have been brought back, but many are still waiting to get out of the Taliban’s reign of terror.
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