Nepal seeks international aid to rescue its nationals as Taliban take over Afghanistan

Kathmandu: In view of the ongoing historic developments in Afghanistan, Nepal Government on Sunday requested the international community to keep Nepali nationals living in Kabul, Afghanistan in safer place and help their repatriation home.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) issuing a statement urged Nepali nationals living in Afghanistan to get in contact with them. 

The government said an online registration has begun to collect details of people living in Afghanistan and has requested its nationals to register their name and provide other details on the website of the Department of Consular. 

Nepal has officially written letters to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Japan and United Nations to help the repatriation of Nepali nationals working in diplomatic missions and international organizations. 

In addition to this, the government has asked all the companies monitoring the hiring of Nepalis to send abroad for jobs to provide all details of the people in Afghanistan and facilitate their safe return home. Many Nepalis work as security guards in diplomatic missions in Afghanistan. 

Those seeking their safe home return, may contact Department of Consular Service on +977-9749326458 or MoFA on +977-974932659 on WhatsApp and Viber. 

This comes after Taliban took control of the presidential palace, soon after president Ashraf Ghani fled the country for Tajikistan.

Taliban are set to declare Afghanistan as an Islamic Emirate soon, as per senior members of the insurgent group. The flag of the country will also be changed as a symbol of the Taliban takeover. 

After conquering Mazar-e-sharif and Jalalabad overnight, the Taliban turned towards capital Kabul. However, the group declared that it had no intention of taking over the city by force or violence and will wait for a 'peaceful transition of power' from the Afghan government. 

As soon as Ghani fled the country, the Taliban ordered its members to enter Kabul and take hold of all checkpoints abandoned by the Afghan forces.