MEA's special Afghan cell works on a war footing

The special Afghan cell of the ministry of external affairs has been working on a war footing as it receives a number of requests from Indian nationals and Afghans keen to come to India. The MEA had set up a special Afghanistan Cell to coordinate repatriation and other requests from Afghanistan on August 16, a day after Kabul fell into the hands of the Taliban.

The cell works 24*7 in shifts, with each shift having 7-8 young Indian foreign service officers. More than 20 officers have been deployed in the cell. Indians and Afghans can reach out to the cell on Whatsapp, call, or email. The WhatsApp number is +91 8010611290, +91 9599321199, +91 7042049944, the email address is SituationRoom@mea.gov.in and phone number is +91-11-49016783, +91-11-49016784, +91-11-49016785.

This is the second such special cell formed by MEA to deal with a crisis in the last one and a half years, after a special cell on repatriation of Indians amid COVID crisis--operation Vande Bharat. The Afghan cells which work in coordination with various divisions of the ministry aim at streamlining the entire process smoothly.

August 19, 2021

Around 1650 Indian nationals have requested repatriation. Before Kabul fell into the hands of the Taliban on August 15, India had got 1500 requests from Indians wanting to come back. Since August 15, India got 150 requests of Indians wanting to come. India is looking to get services from foreign commercial airlines, including the likes of Qatar for evacuation of its nationals.

For Afghan nationals, India has opened an e-Visa system. Visa will be given after scrutiny for a period of 6 months. This is the first time, India has opened an e-visa for Afghans.