The news agency ANI has reported that the Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) C-130J transport aircraft took off from Kabul evacuating 85 Indians.
The news agency has further reported that citing people familiar with the developments that the IAF aircraft landed in Tajikistan for refuelling as Indian government officials are helping in the evacuation of India’s citizens from Kabul. The IAF’s aircraft will drop off the Indians at Tajikistan’s Dushanbe and they will then be picked up by an Air India plane.
Earlier, on Tuesday India’s ambassador to Afghanistan Rudrendra Tandon and diplomatic staff from Kabul were brought back on a C-17 Globemaster heavy-lift aircraft from the Afghanistan capital. Before that, 45 diplomats and security personnel were flown on Monday as part of an extensive evaluation programme. The government has kept its evacuation plan under wraps and airlifted the citizens after the Indian side received credible inputs about possible threats from rogue elements and Pakistani terror groups.
The Prime Minister also conducted a meeting during which he instructed officials to ensure all Indian nationals are evacuated safely from war-torn Afghanistan, which has been overtaken by the Taliban. The two C-17s flew into Kabul using a circuitous route through Iranian airspace and over the Arabian Sea in order to avoid flying over Pakistan or spending too much time in the uncontrolled Afghan airspace.
The withdrawal of the ambassador and other diplomatic staff from Kabul reflected India’s misgivings about the Taliban’s assurances that all embassies and diplomats would be provided security. On Monday night, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen tweeted that no problems will be created for diplomats, embassies and charitable workers.
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