The Taliban have stopped at least 140 Hindus and Sikhs of Afghanistan from going to the Kabul airport, said Puneet Singh, president of the Indian World Forum, who now coordinates the evacuation with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Indian Air Force (IAF). An IAF aircraft waiting to depart from Kabul airport since Wednesday has been forced to delay its departure because of this recent development.
As per the reports, Taliban turned back the passengers from outside the airport on Wednesday night. Around 200 Hindus and Sikhs as well as other citizens of Afghanistan were to arrive at Hindon Airbase by Thursday morning. There has been a halt to the movement, however, as the Taliban is alleged to have blocked those attempting to enter the airport.
Taliban’s appeal
As the Taliban aims to establish the Islamic Emirate in the coming weeks, Afghan nationals are being urged not to leave the country. Over 565 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan by India since evacuation flights began, according to sources. There were 175 members of the Indian embassy, 263 other Indian nationals, and 112 Afghan nationals, including Hindus and Sikhs.
Read more: Stranded in Afghanistan: Indians await evacuation along with Afghan Sikhs
Multiple checkpoints set up by armed militant groups, flight clearances from different countries, and a delay in landing permissions have been major challenges for the evacuation process, according to The Hindu. However, frequent shooting outside and inside the airport now pose an even bigger challenge in air lifting stranded citizens.
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