NEW DELHI, August 20: The Taliban entered at least two of India’s consulates in Afghanistan on Wednesday, searched for documents and took away parked cars, government sources said today, expressing worry that it meant the group is acting against the assurances its leaders have been giving to the world.
Members of the Taliban “ransacked” the Indian consulates in Kandahar and Herat, which are closed, according to the sources. They “searched closets” in Kandahar for papers and took away vehicles parked at both the consulates.
“We expected this. They ransacked the place searched documents and also took away our parked vehicles from both embassies,” a senior officer said.
Days before the raid, the Taliban had reached out to Delhi, saying that did not want India to evacuate diplomats from its Kabul embassy. Sources say the government had received messages from the group’s Qatar office assuring them of the safety of Indian staff and security personnel.
The messages – sent from the office of Abbas Stanikzai, the chief of the Taliban’s political unit – were routed via contacts in Kabul and Delhi.
Earlier this week, India carried out a difficult evacuation of its embassy staff in two Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft that flew out of Kabul. India’s ambassador to Afghanistan was also brought back as diplomats and civilians scrambled to get out of the country after the Taliban’s takeover. But over 1,000 Indian nationals are still stuck across Afghanistan.
After its breakneck takeover of the Afghan capital, the Taliban has been carrying out door-to-door searches in Kabul to identify Afghans who worked for National Directorate of Security, the state-run intelligence agency.
(Courtesy: ndtv.com)