India has decided to temporarily close its diplomatic mission in Kandahar in view of the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. After this decision, about 50 diplomats posted in Kandahar were brought to Delhi by Indian Air Force aircraft on Saturday.
This decision has been taken in view of the security situation in Kandahar. Indian employees will be able to return to Kandahar when the security situation is fine. Meanwhile, the Kandahar mission will be handled by local Afghan personnel. The same essential services will be provided from the Indian Embassy in Kabul. Keep in mind that in view of the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, India has already closed its consulate in Jalalabad and Hai Raat.
There is an increased risk that Lashkar and Jaish terrorists involved with Taliban fighters in Afghanistan target India’s interests. Therefore, in view of the poor security situation, the consulate of Kandahar has been closed for the time being. However, four days ago, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said that India is not going to close its mission in Afghanistan.
However, sources say that this decision was taken after high level brainstorming and security assessment in the government. Along with the Ministry of External Affairs, the office of NSA Ajit Doval and the Ministry of Home Affairs were also involved in this exercise. Only after this it was decided that by sending an Indian Air Force aircraft, all the Indian employees should be evacuated safely.
However, India’s apprehensions are not unreasonable as Indian diplomatic missions in Afghanistan have been the target of terrorist attacks several times in the past. In 2014, the Kandahar Mission was attacked. At the same time, in 2008, there was a suicide attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul in which senior officers like Brigadier Ravi Dutt Mehta, the then Defense Attache of India, were killed. In 2010, 10 people, including two Major rank officers of the Indian Army, were killed in the Kabul embassy attack.
A fresh evidence of the nexus of Pakistani terrorists with the Afghan Taliban was shared on social media by Aziz Amin, Special Secretary to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. In this video, a crowd of people had gathered in Peshawar to get the Pakistanis killed in the fighting with the security forces in Afghanistan. Commenting with the video, Amin said that we are fighting Taliban or Pakistan.
In view of the withdrawal of US forces, the situation in Afghanistan is moving towards serious instability. Taliban fighters have captured about 85 percent of Afghanistan’s territory, including border posts along the borders with Iran and Turkmenistan. In such a situation, experts believe that it will not be a surprise if the Taliban capture Kabul within a few days after the completion of the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan on 31 August.