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New Delhi not closing Afghanistan missions: India Embassy in Kabul

An Afghan security personnel stands guard at the site of a car bomb attack in Kandahar on July 6, 2021. (Photo by JAVED TANVEER/AFP via Getty Images)

By: ShubhamGhosh

Shubham Ghosh

THE Indian Embassy in Kabul on Tuesday (6) rubbished reports saying the country was shutting down its diplomatic missions in Afghanistan in view of the escalating violence there.

In a post on Twitter, the embassy said it was clearly monitoring the evolving security situation in the country which is believed to be at the crosswords as the US was pulling out its forces from there. It said it was keeping a special watch around the cities of Kandahar and Mazar and the media reports about a probable closing down of the embassy as “incorrect”.

“Media reports on #India closing its Embassy & Consulates in AF are incorrect. @IndianEmbKabul, Consulates in Kandahar & Mazar are open, functioning. We DO HOWEVER continue to closely monitor the evolving security situation particularly around Kandahar & Mazar cities,” it said.

Embassy cautions Indians in Afghanistan
Last week, the embassy cautioned all Indians visiting, staying and working in Afghanistan to exercise utmost caution with regard to their security and avoid all types of non-essential travel in the wake of rising number of incidents of violence across the country.

In an advisory, the embassy said the security situation in Afghanistan remains “dangerous” and that terror outfits have carried out a series of complex attacks, including targeting civilians. It also said the Indian nationals also face a “serious threat” of abduction.

The situation in Afghanistan deteriorated over the past few weeks as the US quickened the process of withdrawal from the country by September 11, almost two decades after it invaded the country to avenge the 9/11 terror attacks.

New Delhi is concerned over the growing levels of violence and the Taliban’s efforts to revive and bring Afghanistan back under its influence. In June, India’s foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the extremist group’s relentless pursuit of power through violence has created an environment of uncertainty in Afghanistan and the situation there is “fluid” at this point.

India, which is separated from Afghanistan only by the non-friendly neighbour of Pakistan, is a major stakeholder in the peace and stability of that country. New Delhi has been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process that is Afghan-controlled.

That the situation in Afghanistan was becoming a concern was also evident from the fact that more than 1,000 Afghan soldiers fled the country the neighbouring Tajikistan after clashes with the Taliban militants, officials said on Monday (5). The troops retreated over the border to “save their own lives”, sources in Tajikistan’s border guard said, BBC reported.

Pakistan Weekly

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