Inside story of India's Kabul evacuation: US, Tajik support and a long drive with 15 Taliban check posts

With the fall of the Afghanistan capital Kabul in the hands of the Taliban on August 15, India's biggest focus was to bring back its diplomatic officials and several stranded nationals -- which included journalists, ITBP officials. Two C17s of the Indian Air Force were used to bring back them - the first of which arrived on Monday, and the second on Tuesday. The message from the top was clear that "security of our diplomatic staff and official is paramount."

While the first C17 had around 40-45 Indians, the second one had more than 100 Indians, including the Indian's envoy to Afghanistan Rudrendra Tandon. The complex process which was constantly being monitored by officials including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval had two key segments - the movement from the Indian embassy in Kabul to the airport and then from the airport to India. 

Of the two movements, movement from the embassy to the airport was the risky one, and in that India used its contacts, including locals who manoeuvred the convey through the 45-minute long distance.

The biggest worry was the 15 check posts on the way. While most of these check posts were manned by the Taliban, some of them were infiltrated with rouge elements, which could have been inimical to Indian personnel who were being brought back. 

In a city with no governance, the biggest risk was the uncertainty of what was to come and who to deal with. Sources said, "India, in a short time, was able to bring out everyone and contrast this with any other countries. We had all of the government approaches. We coordinated with the US government in the evacuation."

Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Rudrendra Tandon, who was evacuated from Kabul, is seen inside a car as it leaves the Hindon Air Force Station in Ghaziabad. (Photo: Reuters)

Other than the US government, India had its C17 parked in Tajikistan for a brief period since Kabul airport didn't have space to park the planes due to increased load. The C17s were flown from time to time from the Ayni airbase of Tajikistan as and when the operation began. 

It is to be noted that the Kabul airport is now under the control of the Americans.

While all of the Indian diplomatic staff has been brought back from Afghanistan, the Indian embassy in Kabul continues to function with help of locals. India also continues to provide consular service by announcing an emergency e-visa system for the Afghans who want to come to India.

India had already started evacuating its officials from its consulates from Kandahar and Mazar-i-Sharif when the Taliban was making its rapid advances. India had certain "red lines" which if crossed put in motion the process of evacuation, like in the case of Mazar-i-Sharif, the fall of Phenergan. But India was still among the last to leave the northern city.