Amid evacuation plans by U.S., UK and other EU countries with advancing Taliban forces.
Amidst moves by other countries to secure their diplomats based in Afghanistan, the Indian government began a series of consultations on whether to scale down operations at its Embassy in Kabul. The meetings on Saturday in New Delhi came amidst reports that the Taliban has taken territory around 50 kilometres from Kabul, while Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani said he is discussing how to “remobilise” the Afghanistan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) to protect the capital and other cities.
According to sources, security assessments had earlier been in favour of keeping the Indian Embassy in Kabul fully operational, after consulates in Kandahar and Mazar e Sharif were closed and Indian staff flown out.
Dampen panic
On Thursday, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said there were “no plans” to evacuate staff from Kabul, the single remaining Indian mission that is operational…