S Jaishankar discusses Kabul `evacuation challenges’ with German minister

INTERNATIONAL DESK: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday spoke to his German counterpart Heiko Maas on the latest developments in Afghanistan and challenges relating to emergency evacuation from Kabul.

“Appreciate the call from Foreign Minister @HeikoMaas of Germany. Discussed the evacuation challenges in Afghanistan and the policy implications of the changes there,” Mr Jaishankar tweeted.

India has been in touch with the US, the UK and a number of other leading powers on the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan after Kabul fell to the Taliban on Sunday evening.

Several countries including India have been facing difficulties in evacuating people from Kabul in view of chaos around the airport in the Afghan capital following the Taliban takeover.

India on Saturday evacuated around 80 Indian nationals from Kabul by a transport military aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

The aircraft landed at Dushanbe in Tajikistan after evacuating the Indians from Kabul.

By Tuesday, India had evacuated 200 people, including the Indian envoy and other staffers of its embassy in Kabul, in two C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft of the IAF.

The first evacuation flight brought back over 40 people, mostly staffers at the Indian embassy, on Monday.

The second C-17 aircraft evacuated around 150 people including Indian diplomats, officials, security personnel and some stranded Indians from Kabul on Tuesday. (PTI)