NEW DELHI: India on Friday said that it is unaware of the exact number of citizens still stranded in Afghanistan, but most of those who wanted to return have been evacuated from the war-torn country.
“The numbers keep changing. 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,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. He added that New Delhi is carefully monitoring the evolving situation.
Elaborating on the evacuation efforts, Bagchi said India has so far evacuated over 550 people in six flights directly from Kabul or via Dushanbe since the Taliban took over the reins in Afghanistan. Of the total number of evacuees, around 260 are Indians, while the rest are Afghans and nationals of other countries.
Saying that India was in touch with various countries like the US, Iran, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson added that Uzbekistan and Iran’s air space was opened up for India for evacuation sorties. “Of the evacuees, many of them were Sikhs and Hindus. Primarily, our focus will be on Indian nationals, but we will also stand by Afghans who have stood by us,” he added.
On the Afghan evacuees, Bagchi said they have not been granted refugee status but given e-visa for a tenure of six months. “The situation is evolving. We will take a call depending upon the situation after six months regarding the status of the visa,” the MEA spokesperson mentioned. He added that discussions are on with regard to the fate of the visas of those Afghans who were already in India before the evacuation process began.