As Taliban advance, India pulls out Kandahar consulate staff 







As the claims by the Taliban about taking control of Af- ghan territory grow, India has decided to temporarily close its consulate in Kanda- har, sending an Indian Air Force flight to evacuate about 50 diplomats and per- sonnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) back to Delhi, government sources confirmed to The Hindu. Officials said the move was purely precautionary, and stemmed from reports that if the Taliban continue to push on to the southern city of Kandahar, which was their headquarters in the 1990s, the fighting with the Afghan Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) could get fierce. 
“Our aim is to ensure that Indian personnel are safe, and we felt the risk of fight- ing within the city could en- danger them,” an official told The Hindu, as a full security
review of Indian missions in Afghanistan in the wake of the pull-out of American troops continues. At present, the Indian Em- bassy in Kabul and the con-
sulate in Mazar-e-Sharif in Balkh province remain operational.
Evolving situation According to the officials, the personnel that returned to Delhi on Saturday would be transported back if the situation improved, while some may alternatively tra- vel to Kabul to continue their consular operations from the Embassy, if required. In April last year, the go- vernment had decided to suspend operations at the other two consulates in Jala- labad and Herat and pull out all personnel from there as well. 



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