Released from custody of Taliban, 150 Indian nationals to be evacuated today

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 21

About 150 Indians, who managed to reach the Kabul airport, will be evacuated on Sunday. The military aircraft could not arrive on Saturday. For evacuations, India has parked C-17 transporters at the Ayni Air Base in Tajikistan. The US, which controls the Kabul airport, will give the clearance for flights.

A convoy of vehicles carrying Indians as well as Afghan Sikhs and Hindus was detained by the Taliban after midnight as they headed to the airport. There were tense moments for Indian officials here as Kabul’s security is largely in the hands of the Haqqani network, considered a “veritable arm of the ISI”. The Indians were taken for verification of documents. The Afghan Hindus and Sikhs were turned back.

Taliban spokesman Ahmadullah Waseq denied the allegations of abduction and suggested that the convoy of vehicles was taken away from Hamid Karzai International Airport as it was blocking the road. Some Afghan Hindus and Sikhs reportedly reached their homes in Kabul. Those from outside the city are reportedly staying at Gurdwara Karta-e-Parwan. The Indians were subsequently asked to board the buses to the Kabul airport and some were served lunch. The coordinator, a local Afghan, then got in touch with Indian officials after his mobile was returned. Sri Lanka has requested India to evacuate 20 of its nationals from Afghanistan.

The absence of a government in Kabul has led to chaos at the airport. The Americans control one entry to the airport and the Taliban the other. Also, Taliban checkpoints detain outsiders. While a senior Haqqani network leader has been put in charge of Kabul security, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Chief Peace Negotiator Abdullah Abdullah met the acting Governor of Taliban for Kabul, Abdul Rahman Mansour, to discuss the state of security in the city.

The absence of a central authority showed in a fatwa issued from Herat banning co-education and most shops in Shia Hazara-dominated Bamyan remained closed.

Haji Mullah, the police chief of the Badghis province, was shown on social media as alive in the custody of the Taliban after assurances that he would not be harmed. Videos later showed his execution after being blindfolded.

Family members of several government officials, including the former governor and police chief of the Laghman province, appeared on social media, claiming that their relatives could not be traced.

Taliban ban co-ed in Herat province

Days after vowing to respect women’s rights, Taliban officials in restive Herat have banned co-education in universities, describing it as the ‘root of all evils’, Khaama Press News Agency reported on Saturday. PTI

Biden: lives could be lost in airlift ops

Joe Biden

13 nations have agreed to host at-risk Afghans, temporarily
Another 12 have agreed to serve as transit points for evacuees, including America