Air India Flight from Dushanbe with 78 people, including 25 Indians lands at Delhi Airport

Continuing with its massive evacuation operations in Afghanistan following Taliban's takeover, India is now bringing back 78 passengers on a special Air India flight to New Delhi. These passengers were first flown in from Kabul to Tajikistan on an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft. Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Chief of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, informed that the passengers include many Sikhs.

Special Air India flight brings passengers from Kabul

According to official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Arindam Bagchi, a Special Air India flight 1956 is on its way from the Dushanbe International Airport in Tajikistan to New Delhi with 78 passengers including 25 Indians. Earlier, the passengers were evacuated from the Kabul airport and then brought to Dushanbe and are now being brought by the special Air India flight. 

The MEA has also shared some pictures from the journey showing passengers equipping themselves with services provided by the officials. Also, a video from the flight has been shared by Bagchi. 

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The evacuation operation led by India seems to be on its end with more than 500 people already evacuated from Afghanistan. With the help of the IAF, India launched its evacuation process from 16 August and several diplomats and civilians have already been brought into the country. Earlier, on Sunday, a total of 392 people were brought back on three different flights. In the first flight, a total of 168 people including 107 Indians and 23 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus were flown from Kabul to Delhi. The other group included 87 Indians and two Nepali citizens followed by 135 Indians in another flight. 

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chaired meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Security to review the evacuation process of the Indians and the steps taken to ensure the safety of Sikhs and Hindus stranded in Afghanistan. Additionally, the Government has also opened E-visas for all Afghan nationals, irrespective of their religion.

Taliban in Afghanistan

Ever since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, India has launched its evacuation mission aided by the IAF with the aim of bringing more and more people back to the country. Meanwhile, protests are witnessed across Afghanistan. Afghan civilians were seen carrying out protests on the streets led by the war-torn country's acting President Amrullah Saleh.

(Image Credits: MEA/Twitter)