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Indian Air Force to the rescue: India asks its citizens in war-zone Afghanistan to depart in a special flight today

Indian authorities have asked its citizens in Afghanistan to leave the country by a special flight which is scheduled to take off today evening from Mazar-e-Sharif. The Taliban said Monday they had turned their sights on Mazar-i-Sharif.

The Indian-based staff of the consulate and a number of Indians residing in Mazar-e-Sharif are being evacuated due to the deteriorating security scenario in the city as well as areas around it, they said.

According to the Consulate General of India in Mazar-e-Sharif, a special flight will be leaving from Mazar-e-Sharif to New Delhi. It said that Indian citizens who want to leave by the special flight should submit the details like their full name and passport number to the consulate immediately.

Around 1,500 Indians are currently staying in Afghanistan, according to government data.

Last month India pulled out around 50 diplomats and security personnel from its consulate in Kandahar following intense clashes between Afghan forces and Taliban fighters around the city.

A special aircraft of the Indian Air Force was sent to bring back the Indian diplomats, officials and other staff members including a group of Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel.

Since the announcement of the withdrawal of US forces by August 31, violence has been rising in Afghanistan and efforts to broker a peace settlement between the Afghan government and insurgent Taliban have slowed. With Taliban attacks increasing, Afghan security forces and government troops have retaliated with airstrikes aided by the United States.

The Indian embassy had then asked its nationals visiting, staying and working in Afghanistan to exercise the utmost caution with regard to their security and avoid all types of non-essential travel in view of rising incidents of violence in various parts of the country.

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