Taliban ‘Ransacks’ Closed Indian Consulates in Afghanistan’s Kandahar, Herat

Reports of Taliban conducting searches has sparked fears that it may not grant 'amnesty' to everyone after all.

Taliban fighters patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan. 

(Photo: PTI

The Taliban searched the closed Indian Consulates in Kandahar and Herat two days ago and reportedly took some documents from the two missions, IANS reported on Friday, 20 August, quoting sources.

According to the report, the insurgents broke into the Consulate buildings and also took parked vehicles.

"We expected this. They ransacked the place searched documents and also took away our parked vehicles from both embassies," NDTV reported, quoting a senior officer.

India has four Indian consulates located in Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif and Jalalabad which were closed after the Taliban took control of Kabul on 15 August.

According to NDTV, the embassy in Kabul has not been officially shut yet and is functioning with local aid.

Indian Embassy personnel were evacuated by an Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft on 17 August, which brought back approximately 150 Indians, including ITBP personnel from the Kabul airport. Prior to that, another aircraft had evacuated 45 Indians from Afghanistan.

The evacuation of the remaining Indian workers was also discussed in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) wherein Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed to take all necessary steps to bring them back. Over 1,000 Indian nationals are still stuck across Afghanistan.

"Modi, in the two back-to-back meetings of the CCS on 17 and 18 August, instructed officials for speedy evacuation of Indians who are still in the war-torn country, in the next few days and also to provide all possible help to Afghan brothers and sisters who are looking towards India for assistance," an official, privy to these developments, had said, reported IANS.

Meanwhile, an intelligence document from the UN revealed that the Taliban is conducting house-to-house searches for people who worked with the US and NATO forces, news agency AFP reported. This has sparked fears that though the group had earlier offered 'general amnesty', it may not stick to its word.

(With inputs from NDTV, AFP and IANS.)