Hundreds of Indian expatriate workers in Afghanistan, who have been stranded due to the COVID-19 induced travel restrictions, have sought the Centre to repatriate them from the war-torn country.
Hailing mostly from Kerala, they have been laid off or forced to resign from construction companies after the U.S. began closing military bases as part of the Taliban peace deal in March. After inking the deal in Doha, the companies that provide maintenance and operational support to the U.S. Army and coalition forces communicated to employees that they would have to downsize the workforce.
Sources said that approximately 5,000 Indians were employed in several companies that provided multifunctional support and logistics work for the U.S. military troops in Afghanistan. These bases functioned at Bagram, Shindand, Kandahar, Hemland River Valley and Helmand Province. All the bases have airstrips or runways, including the dual runway at Bagram.
Three batches of stranded Indians have been evacuated under the Vande Bharat Mission earlier. But more Indians wish to return following the situation in Afghanistan. One of the reasons is that the COVID-19 situation is getting worse. The total cases is about 38,000 till now. But the testing is low as 2,565 per 10 lakh population. Indians who have COVID-19 symptoms were being treated in high-security hospitals, the sources said.
Sources said the retrenched employees were taken care of by providing food and accommodation. But all of them want to return home fearing escalation of violence in Afghanistan.
One of the major agreements of the U.S.-Taliban deal was the withdrawal of troops from 14,000 to 8,600 within 135 days. If the Taliban follows through on its commitments, all U.S. and other foreign troops will leave Afghanistan within 14 months. However most companies secured an extension till December 2020 or March 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Taliban has stepped up attacks on civilians and U.S. troops even as the Ashraf-led government is yet to finalise the release of 400 prisoners. Already the Indian Embassy in Kabul has issued a security advisory for Indians stating that the security situation in Afghanistan continues to be highly volatile, unpredictable and dangerous and that different terrorist groups have carried out a series of complex attacks in Kabul and other parts, mainly targeting Afghan Defence and Security Forces, government institutions, international community and even innocent civilians.
Indian citizens have been advised to exercise strict vigilance and caution with regard to security at workplace, place of residence and during movement in the city. They have been told to avoid any non-essential movement, especially during peak commuting hours, and maintain distance from possible targets such as military convoys, Afghan government ministries and offices.
