India monitoring situation in Afghanistan, focus is on security situation of evacuations: MEA

New Delhi: India is closely monitoring the situation and seeking a peaceful and democratic Afghanistan, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson said on Friday (August 27) as the nation lost at least 100 people in blasts at the Kabul airport. 

Addressing a weekly brief, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "We are monitoring the situation in Afghanistan and are in touch with other countries especially the US as they are operating the Kabul airport.”

Further, he said that the current focus is on the security situation of evacuations, “We've been seeking a peaceful, prosperous, democratic Afghanistan. We are currently monitoring it closely. The current focus is on security situation of Afghanistan evacuations and seeing how it unfolds. Other countries are in the frame of wait and watch," ANI quoted him as saying. 

Bagchi said that India has so far evacuated more than 550 people from war-torn Afghanistan and said the primary aim of the government is to rescue Indian nationals and Afghan nationals who stand by India.  

“We've evacuated over 550 people in 6 separate flights, either from Kabul or Dushanbe. Of these, over 260 were Indians. GoI also facilitated evacuation of Indian nationals through other agencies. We were in touch with various countries, like US, Tajikistan,” the MEA spokesperson said. 

He added, “We were able to bring out some Afghan nationals as well as nationals from other countries. Of these, many of them were Sikhs and Hindus. Primarily, our focus will be on Indian nationals, but we'll also stand by Afghans who stood by us.”

The MEA spokesperson said he does not have an exact number of how many Indian nationals are still in Afghanistan. “Our overall assessment is that the vast majority of Indians who wish to return have been evacuated. Some more are likely to be in Afghanistan. I don't have the exact number for that,”  Bagchi said. 

On being asked about recognising Taliban rule in Afghanistan, Bagchi said, "The situation on the ground is uncertain (in Afghanistan). The primary concern is the security and safety of people. Currently, there is no clarity about any entity forming a government in Kabul. I think we are jumping the gun regarding recognition."

(With ANI inputs)

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