India evacuates another 75 Sikhs from Kabul: Top developments | India News

NEW DELHI: India on Sunday evacuated 400 people from Afghanistan on three different flights. Another group of 87 Indians and two Nepalese nationals were brought back in a special Air India flight from Dushanbe, a day after they were evacuated to the Tajikistan capital in an IAF aircraft.
Here are the key developments from the Afghan situation and the on-going evacuation process:
India evacuates another 75 Sikhs from Kabul
Indian authorities on Monday evacuated another 75 Sikhs amid the deteriorating situation in war-torn Afghanistan.
They are being evacuated from Kabul via Dushanbe and will arrive in India late at night.
International forces have escorted the evacuees to the aircraft, reports say. Three copies of Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib are also being brought back.
135 Indians evacuated from Kabul to Doha in the last few days by the US and NATO aircraft were flown back to Delhi on a special flight.
India has been allowed to operate two flights per day from Kabul to evacuate its nationals stranded in Afghanistan, government sources said.
MEA to brief political parties on Afghanistan situation
The MEA will brief the floor leaders of parties in Parliament on the situation in Afghanistan.
“In view of developments in Afghanistan, PM @narendra Modi has instructed that MEA to brief Floor leaders of the political parties. The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs @Joshi Pralhad will be initiating further details,” the External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar said in a tweet message on Monday.

The MEA is likely to share the details of the ongoing rescue operation and other arrangements made by the government to those arriving from Afghanistan and India’s concerns and challenges in the war torn country.
Taliban warns of ‘consequences’ if US pullout extended
The Taliban will not agree to an extension of the August 31 deadline for the United States to withdraw troops and a delay will bring consequences, a spokesman told Sky News.
“You can say it’s a red line,” spokesman Suhail Shaheen said in an interview. “If the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations — the answer is no. Or there would be consequences.”
Afghan refugees protest in front of UNHCR office in Delhi
A large number of Afghan refugees protested in front of the UNHCR office in Delhi on Monday demanding release of “support letters” from the UN agency to migrate to other countries for better opportunities.
The crowd shouted slogans like ‘We want future’, ‘We want justice’, ‘No more silence’ and clapped and cheered each other, as many others held banners bearing messages, like ‘UN Geneva help Afghan Refugees’ and ‘Issue resident visas to all Afghan refugees’.
The protest was organised by Afghan Solidarity Committee (ASC) and the protestors were shouting slogans till late afternoon, with their leader saying the protest will continue for at least two-three days.
France sees need for Afghan evacuations beyond US deadline
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Monday that Paris believed it necessary to continue Afghan evacuations beyond Washington’s August 31 deadline following the Taliban takeover.
France is seeking to evacuate more than 1,000 Afghans who are fleeing the country following the Taliban’s lightning takeover a week ago, one of a number of nations scrambling to pull out vulnerable individuals.
“We are concerned about the deadline set by the United States on August 31. Additional time is needed to complete ongoing operations,” Le Drian told reporters at the UAE’s Al-Dhafra air base, where France has set up an air bridge for people evacuated from Kabul.
China hints at providing financial aid to Taliban controlled Afghanistan
China on Monday hinted at stepping up financial assistance to the Taliban controlled Afghanistan, saying it will play a “positive role” in helping the war-ravaged country amid global pushback to stop funding to Kabul until the Afghan militant group modified its hardline religious policies.
In his media briefing on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin hit out at the US saying it is “main perpetrator” for the Afghan crisis and Washington cannot leave without doing anything for Afghanistan’s reconstruction.
“We hope the US will match its words with deeds and shoulder its responsibility to honour its own commitments in humanitarian assistance and reconstruction,” he said.
The US still has control over billions of dollars belonging to the Afghan central bank, money that Washington is making sure remains out of the reach of the Taliban, the New York Times reported last week.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York held about $7 billion of Afghanistan’s central bank’s $9 billion in foreign reserves and the Biden administration has already moved to block access to that money.
(With agency inputs)