Rumblings in Kabul cause sleepless nights to Afghan families in hills

In his letter, MP Raju Bista has provided information about two persons from the region who are stuck in the capital city of Afghanistan

Raju Bista.: File photo

Vivek Chhetri   |   TT  |  Darjeeling   |  17.08.21: Rumblings in Kabul are causing sleepless nights to many families in Darjeeling hills and neighbouring region with their near and dear ones stuck in this Afghanistan capital.

The Taliban have taken over the country following President Ashraf Ghani’s departure from the country on Sunday.

Darjeeling MP Raju Bista wrote to India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar about the “SOS call from Kabul” on Monday.

“I am writing to you regarding an SOS call I received from Kabul in Afghanistan requesting for evacuation of stranded Indians in the wake of the ongoing violence and political turmoil. Many of the workers there are retired Indian Army personnel,” Bista wrote.

In his letter, the Darjeeling MP has provided information about two persons from the region who are stuck in Kabul.

Family members are worried for many residents of Darjeeling who are posted in Kabul but not working with the Indian embassy, fearing their return would be delayed.

A relative of a person stuck in Kabul spoke about their fears.

“My brother-in-law is in Kabul and on Sunday they were taken to the airport in a helicopter but their group could not board the flight,” said a relative of an ex-serviceman stuck in Kabul.

The Indian passport holder used to work in the Indian Army and after retirement had gone to Kabul to work in an embassy, not Indian.

 “Given the nature of his job and his contract we cannot identify him or our family,” said the relative while talking to this paper.

The ex-serviceman is in contact with the family at regular intervals.

“However, you can imagine the anxiety that the family is going through right now. I know for certain that in his group there are a lot of people from Darjeeling, Northeast and even Dehradun,” the relative said.

The relative said that the former army jawan had joined the posting in Kabul around a year back.

“They can get leave once in a year and he had come here and returned to Kabul in March this year,” the relative added.

“We have learnt that their embassy (where the jawan is working) did evacuate some employees on Sunday who were then reportedly flown to the United Kingdom and Qatar,” said the relative.

The jawan in Kabul had reportedly told his family members that they were taken to the airport in a helicopter on Sunday.

“However, we are worried by reports that the airport might be closed for a few days,” the relative added.

Bista in his letter to the external affairs minister added “as informed to me, there are many Indians working in Kabul, including many from Darjeeling Hills, Terai, and Dooars, and are worried about their safety in the city”.

(https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/rumblings-in-kabul-cause-sleepless-nights-to-afghan-families-in-darjeeling-hills/cid/1826787)