Over 200 Indians including Foreign Ministry staff and ITBP soldiers posted at the Indian embassy in Kabul for their protection are yet to be evacuated from the Afghanistan capital, according to government officials.
Two Indian Air Force planes have landed in Kabul to bring them back. But at the moment there appears to be a problem in getting them from the embassy compound to the airport as the Taliban fighters have clamped a strict curfew in the city.
US troops have taken over the Kabul airport and all commercial flights are banned. The Afghan airspace has been closed to commercial flights after thousands of desperate people ran on to the tarmac on Monday morning to get out of the country. US soldiers had to fire in the air to check the crowds from entering military planes.
Also read: US troops fire in the air at Kabul airport as fleeing Afghans rush to planes
Earlier on Monday, an Air India spokesperson said the airspace over Afghanistan had been declared closed and no commercial aircraft could operate there. “Our scheduled flight to Kabul also cannot go,” the spokesperson added.
An Air India flight coming from Chicago to New Delhi was diverted at the last minute on Monday morning. The flight had to land at Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates for more fuel, FlightRadar24 said.
Afghanistan's aviation authority said on Monday that national airspace had been released to the military following the Taliban's takeover and advised transit planes to keep away. All commercial airlines have switched to other routes.