Taliban searched closed Indian consulates in Kandahar, Herat

Taliban fighters stand guard at an entrance gate outside the Interior Ministry in Kabul. Photo/AFP

The Taliban have searched the closed Indian Consulates in Kandahar and Herat two days ago and reportedly took some documents from the two missions, sources in the security set-up said.

According to the sources, the insurgents broke into the Consulate buildings and also took parked vehicles.

India has four Indian consulates located in Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif and Jalalabad which were closed after the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15.

Amidst the critical situation in Afghanistan, the Indian Embassy personnel were evacuated by an Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft on Tuesday, bringing back 120 Indians, including ITBP personnel from the Kabul airport.

The evacuation of remaining Indian workers were also discussed in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) wherein the Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed to take all necessary steps to bring them back.

"Modi, in the two back-to-back meetings of the CCS on August 17 and 18, instructed officials for speedy evacuation of Indians who are still in the war-torn country, in the next few days and also to provide all possible help to Afghan brothers and sisters who are looking towards India for assistance," an official privy to these developments had said.

The government has also introduced a new category of visa, "e-Emergency X-Misc Visa", under which all Afghan nationals can apply to visit India.

The emergency visa will be valid for six months first.

Earlier, the Indian embassy in Kabul was functioning with reduced staff members but evaluating the critical situation in the country, the government decided to call all of them back.

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