NewsGate Press Network

By Vineet Dikshit

India has cancelled and ‘invalidated’ all visas issued to Afghan citizens during the last two months ever since Taliban began running over Afghanistan.

For the time being all Afghan nationals willing to travel to India must carry a new “e-visa”.

After Taliban ransacked Indian consulate premises, the possibility of details of such applicants falling into wrong hands, the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs decided to resolve this ticklish issue with a new e-visa approach.

New rules also apply to successful visa applicants who were issued regular Indian visas in Afghanistan in the last two months. One media report suggested that such number of Afghans could be in the range of 2000 who were blue ticked for regular visas.

All those visas now stands cancelled and such applicants have to apply afresh.

These new ‘e-visas’ will be valid only for six months.

Here is that link of MEA’s press release on e-Emergency X-Misc visa.

Elsewhere, the United States is speeding-up evacuation of its citizens and that of its allies from Kabul as Taliban refused to extend the deadline set to expire on 31st August.

Officially, Taliban says they are still at the gates of Kabul. And at the moment allowing Americans to control the Kabul airport till Tuesday next week.

Yesterday, that is on Tuesday, 24 August 2021, Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) was busy.

Evacuation flights took-off every 39 minutes.

The US President Joe Biden in his remarks made after G-7’s virtual meeting stated as of now 31st August deadline is unchanged.

Giving details of the evacuation carried out till yesterday, Joe Biden said about 70,700 people were evacuated since 14 August from the total figure of 75,900 people who were brought back to safety since end of July.

In just past 12 hours, Biden said, 19 U.S. military flights with 18 other C-17, and one C-130 flight took off from Kabul carrying approximately 6,400 evacuees which included 5,600 who left the Afghan capital in last 12 hours.