Three Indian nationals carrying three Sri Guru Granth Sahib are among the 46 Afghanistan Hindus and Sikhs expected to arrive in India on Monday. As part of India’s evacuation mission in view of the deteriorating security situation in the Afghan capital Kabul.
With Centre’s Mission Kabul, which aims to evacuate stranded Afghan Sikhs and Hindus from war-ravaged Afghanistan, entering its last phase. An Indian Air Force(IAF) special flight will take off from Kabul Airport today.
A total number of six flights have completed their missions with the evacuation starting on August 16. A day after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
Countries including India have been urgently evacuating their citizens from the war-torn nation.
The evacuation is being carried out in wake of collapse of the Afghan government and its take over by Taliban.
Nearly 200 more Afghan Sikhs and Hindus are still stranded in Afghanistan
Nearly 200 more Afghan Sikhs and Hindus are still stranded in Afghanistan, said Puneet Singh Chandhok, president of the Indian World Forum. An organization coordinating the evacuation efforts with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Air Force (IAF).
“These people have taken shelter at the Karte Parwan Gurdwara in Kabul, which is close to the airport,” he added.
Announcing the evacuation flight, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri took to Twitter to say, “Three Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is being escorted to the IAF aircraft at Kabul Airport.
Forty-six Afghan Hindus and Sikhs along with stranded Indian nationals are blessed to return on the same flight.”
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said that Indian government is committed to safe return of all Indian nationals.
The MEA said the main challenge for travel to and from Afghanistan is the operational status of the Kabul airport.
India has been allowed to operate two flights per day from Kabul to evacuate its nationals stranded in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the permission was granted by American and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces. However, which has been controlling operations of the Hamid Karzai International Airport after the Afghan capital fell to the Taliban on August 15.