Taliban makes U-turn; claims it'll allow Afghan Hindus & Sikhs to travel to India

On a recent development, Afghan Hindus and Sikhs are allowed to travel to India only if they have valid travel documents, Taliban spokesperson Zahebullah Mujahid said on Monday. Earlier, it was reported that the Taliban had stopped members of the minority communities from boarding an evacuation flight to India. 

Zahebullah Mujahid official spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan conveyed the ascent of his government for the departure of Afghan Hindu and Sikh pilgrims to India and assured his support.

Mujahid said the Taliban has received a request from the Indian World Forum, to facilitate the travel of Hindus and Sikhs to India. In an interview with a local news agency, the leader assured that Sikhs are a part of Afghanistan and that their rights will be protected. He also assured cooperation with those willing to travel to India. 

India has rescued 565 people in separate flights, either directly from Kabul or through Dushanbe. Most of them include embassy personnel, but also local residents including Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, the Ministry of External Affairs informed. Of these, more than 260 were Indian nationals. India also facilitated the evacuation of Indian nationals through other agencies.

Around 20 Indians and over 100 Afghan nationals could not reach the Kabul airport on Wednesday to board an evacuation flight to India reportedly because of the precarious security scenario and multiple check-posts put up by the Taliban.

Indian evacuation efforts

MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India is in touch with "various parties" to mount more evacuation flights to bring back Indians. He said India's primary focus will remain on the evacuation of Indian nationals, but, at the same time, it will also stand by Afghans who stood by India.

India has been pitching for a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic Afghanistan, he said. Asked why the name of India's evacuation mission was given "Operation Devi Shakti", he said like all other operations, a name was suitably given to it. The Indian Air Force has deployed its C-17 Globemaster and C-130J Super Hercules aircraft for evacuation operations in Kabul. 

Following the US decision to exit Afghanistan, ending their 20-year mission to eliminate terrorism, the Taliban has regained control in most of the war-torn country. With the US ending its evacuation mission on Tuesday, August 31, the terrorist organization has decided to form its government. 

(With inputs from agency)