Afghanistan crisis: PM Modi tells officials to ensure refuge to Sikhs, Hindus wanting to come to India

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 17

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday directed officials to ensure safe evacuation of all Indian citizens from Afghanistan and to provide refuge to Sikhs and Hindus wanting to come to India from there, as he chaired a crucial high-level meeting in the backdrop of the Taliban takeover of the war-torn country, sources said.

Chairing a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, Modi also said India must provide all possible help to its Afghan brothers and sisters who are looking towards India for assistance, official sources said.

Modi directed officials concerned to undertake all necessary measures to ensure safe evacuation of Indian nationals from Afghanistan in the coming days.

The meeting comes amid the raging crisis triggered by the Taliban recapture of Afghanistan.

CCS is the highest decision making body with respect to strategic and security issues confronting the nation.

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CCS members Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, attended the meeting along with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Principal Secretary to the PM PK Mishra, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and India's Ambassador to Afghanistan Rudrendra Tandon, who returned to New Delhi today itself after India ordered the evacuation of its embassy in Kabul.

The ambassador and staffers of the Indian embassy in Kabul returned in two military transport aircraft as the situation in Afghanistan worsened.

The CCS meeting also comes on a day when India opened a special class of emergency visas to allow entry to non Muslim minorities from Afghanistan apart from "friends of India".

The CCS took stock of the developments in Afghanistan, received a briefing from Ambassador Tandon on the ground situation in Afghanistan, with the Taliban today issuing a general amnesty and inviting the women to join the government, sources said.

The CCS is also learnt to be taking stock of the Indian assets in Afghanistan besides fine-tuning the plans to evacuate every single Indian safely out of the crisis-hit nation.

—With PTI