Indians evacuated from Afghanistan chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' upon arrival in Jamnagar

Upon their landing at the Jamnagar airport in Gujarat on Tuesday, Indians evacuated from Afghanistan chanted 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram'. The C-17 aircraft, a military transport airliner touched down at the Indian Air Force airbase in Jamnagar at 11.15 am on Tuesday. It had taken off from Kabul with 120 Indians as part of the emergency evacuation following the annexation of Kabul by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

People greeted upon arrival on Jamnagar airbase; chanted ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’

"As soon as the passengers deplaned following their arrival at the airforce base, they were greeted by a huge number of people. The passengers were welcomed with garlands and they were seen chanting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and 'Vande Mataram," an official said.

Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Rudrendra Tandon told media people in Jamnagar that the situation in Kabul is complex and 'quite fluid'. Tandon also informed that Indians stuck in the capital city of Kabul will be brought back to India with the resumption of commercial flights.

Happy to be back home safely and securely: Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Rudrendra Tandon

''Happy to be back home safely and securely. It was a big mission. A mission of evacuating 192 personnel from Afghanistan literally within three days in a very orderly fashion in two phases,'' Tandon said.

According to Rudrendra Tandon, who had taken command as the Indian ambassador to Afghanistan in August last year, stated that the embassy helped and even gave refuge to many troubled Indians following the fast-changing situation in Kabul.

''Your welcome has an impact on all of us. Thank you to the Indian Air Force who flew us out under conditions that are not normal,'' Tandon said. 

Notably, the rescue operation carried out by the C-17 aircraft is the second dedicated rescue flight by India in Afghanistan. On Monday, before the operations at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul were suspended, another C-17 aircraft had evacuated around 40 people including some Indian embassy staff from Kabul.

MEA statement on the current situation in Afghanistan

The MEA on Tuesday released a statement on the current situation in Afghanistan and India's repatriation efforts for stranded citizens. "We have been issuing periodic travel and security advisories for all Indian nationals in Afghanistan, given the deteriorating security situation there. Those already in Afghanistan were urged to return immediately while others were advised not to travel there. Nevertheless, we understand that a number of Indians are stranded in that country, some of whom are employed by third-country organizations. Our immediate priority is to obtain accurate information about all Indian nationals currently in Afghanistan," it added. 

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday informed that India has completed the evacuation of its Embassy personnel in two phases. "While some officials landed in India on Monday via an Air India flight, several officials arrived in Ghaziabad on the IAF C-17 Globemaster on Tuesday evening," an MEA statement said.