By Shakir Husain
NEW DELHI, Aug 24 (NNN-Bernama) — India on Tuesday evacuated 78 more people from Kabul as the United States prepares to pull out its remaining soldiers from Afghanistan by the August 31 deadline.
About 800 Indian nationals as well as Afghan citizens have been flown to New Delhi since August 16.
Those evacuated on Tuesday included 25 Indian nationals, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
They were flown from Kabul to Dushanbe in Tajikistan on an Indian Air Force plane before being brought to New Delhi on an Indian commercial aircraft.
A batch of 168 evacuees, including 23 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, landed at a military airbase on Sunday.
The evacuees included two Afghan lawmakers, Anarkali Kaur Honaryar and Narender Singh Khalsa, and their families.
Another 146 Indian nationals evacuated from Afghanistan to Qatar arrived on different flights.
Hundreds of Indians were working for Indian diplomatic missions, local projects and foreign employers in Afghanistan.
Foreign governments intensified their evacuation efforts after the Taliban movement seized control of Kabul on August 15.
Despite the Taliban controlling the country, the capital’s international airport remains in US and NATO hands.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen on Monday warned of “consequences” if the foreign forces extended their stay beyond the August deadline.
— NNN-BERNAMA