80 stranded nationals to land at Delhi airbase today

Around 150 persons captured by Taliban near Kabul airport, subsequently released

Sources said a large part of the abductees were Indian citizens

The Ministry of External Affairs is now working out what to do next; this includes the possibility of flying them out on a commercial jet at a later stage.: File picture

TT Bureau   |   New Delhi   |  21.08.21: A group of Indian nationals were learnt to have been stopped and taken to an unknown location near the Kabul airport on Saturday for questioning and verification of travel documents, triggering some confusion and concerns in India.

The Indians were among 150 people who were heading towards the Kabul airport when they were stopped by Taliban fighters, according to Afghan media reports.

The Indians were learnt to have been released subsequently and are now inside Kabul airport.

Kabul Now news portal initially reported that the group was "abducted" by the Taliban fighters but it later updated the report saying all the people were released and on their way back to the Kabul airport.

The people cited above said the Indians were taken away for questioning and it is not unusual under the current circumstances.

There was no immediate official comment or reaction on the matter.

Meanwhile, India on Saturday evacuated around 80 Indian nationals from Kabul by a transport military aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

The aircraft landed at Dushanbe in Tajikistan after evacuating the Indians from Kabul, they said, adding it is expected to arrive at Hindon airbase near Delhi in the evening.

India has already evacuated 200 people including the ambassador and other staffers of its embassy in Kabul in two C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft of the IAF after the Taliban seized control of Kabul on Sunday.

The first evacuation flight brought back over 40 people, mostly staffers at the Indian embassy, on Monday.

The second C-17 aircraft evacuated around 150 people including Indian diplomats, officials, security personnel and some stranded Indians from Kabul on Tuesday.

Though the embassy staff has been evacuated, an estimated 1,000 citizens still remain in several cities in the war-torn country, and ascertaining their location and condition is proving to be a challenge, a Home Ministry official had said, since not all of them registered themselves with the embassy.

Among those are around 200 Sikhs and Hindus who have taken refuge at a gurudwara in Kabul.

Late on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Taliban - which seemed to be trying to project a more moderate image - released a video of the gurudwara head saying he had been assured of safety.

It has been just a week since the Taliban completed a lighting fast takeover of the country, finally walking into Kabul last Sunday without firing a shot.

Since then, individual Afghans and international aid and advocacy groups have reported harsh retaliation against protests, and roundups of those who formerly held government positions criticised the Taliban or worked with Americans.

"We have heard of some cases of atrocities and crimes against civilians," an official of the Taliban said. "If Talibs (members) are doing these law and order problems, they will be investigated."

He added, "We can understand the panic, stress and anxiety. People think we will not be accountable, but that will not be the case."