NEW DELHI: The ambassador and all staff of the Indian embassy in Kabul were evacuated on August 17. But the embassy is officially not yet closed.
“In view of the prevailing circumstances, it has been decided that our Ambassador in Kabul and his Indian staff will move to India immediately.” MEA spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi wrote on Twitter.
There are a number of local employees who continue to work at the embassy. So technically, the embassy remains open. For the second time in 20 years India has been at the same position in Afghanistan. Officials recall that even in 1996, when Taliban overran Kabul, India had not strictly closed its mission in Kabul.
This is true of the Indian consulates in Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif as well — the government is currently mulling online salary transfers to all its local employees.
On Tuesday, the government announced an online visa system for Afghans wanting to come to India. This will remove the necessity of keeping a manned visa office going at this time, while keeping visas open. Even background checks are run through a secure database.
India will prioritise the Afghan officials who work for India and stood by India for visas out of Afghanistan. The second category would be civil society members, opinion makers, influencers and women who might want to come over.
Sources said a few months ago, India facilitated visas for media persons and those who felt they may be targeted by the Taliban.
In time, sources said, as the situation stabilizes, India will resume issuing both medical and student visas to Afghans.
