IAF evacuates 75 Indians, 3 Guru Granth Sahib copies from Kabul to India....

 IAF evacuates 75 Indians, 3 Guru Granth Sahib copies from Kabul to India....

India has been running special flights on a daily basis to evacuate its nationals from war-ravaged Afghanistan.

IAF evacuates 75 Indians, 3 Guru Grant Sahib copies from Kabul to India

The latest batch of evacuees are 75 people, including 46 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, who are being brought back to India from Kabul on an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft on Monday, people coordinating the evacuation efforts with the Indian government said.The Sikh community is also carrying three copies of Guru Granth Sahib Ji scripture along with them, which they have brought from various gurudwaras in Afghanistan.

According to Puneet Singh Chandhok, president of the Indian World Forum, nearly 200 more Afghan Sikhs and Hindus are still stranded in the country and have taken shelter at the Karte Parwan gurdwara in Kabul, which is close to the airport.

The Indian World Forum is an organisation coordinating the evacuation efforts with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Air Force (IAF).

"With the untiring efforts of the Government of India, specially the Ministry Of External Affairs and the Indian Air Force, I can confirm that 75 people, including 46 Afghan Hindus and Sikhs with three Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (holy book) are currently inside the Kabul Airport and are being escorted by international forces to the Indian Air Force aircraft on ground," Puneet Singh Chandon told India Today.

Referring to those still stranded in Kabul, Puneet Singh Chandok said the 10-kilometre-long drive to the Kabul international airport from the Gurdwara Karte Parwan through various checkpoints is one of the biggest challenges in the evacuation efforts.

He further added that around 100 more Afghan Sikhs and Hindus are likely to be evacuated in a couple of hours.

Not only Indian World Forum, but Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) is also coordinating with the Indian government in its evacuation mission.

"The evacuation of these 46 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus at such a challenging time is a big relief for us. US security forces escorted these people to the Kabul airport," said Manjinder Singh Sirsa, president of the DSGMC..

146 Indians evacuated from Kabul repatriated to Delhi via Doha

On Monday, India brought back 146 citizens on four different flights from Qatar's capital Doha, days after they were evacuated from Afghanistan by NATO and American aircraft amid the deteriorating security situation in the war-torn country.

On Sunday, it had evacuated 392 individuals from Kabul on three flights. Among them were 24 Afghan Sikhs, including two Afghan MPs -- Narinder Singh Khalsa and Anarkali Kaur Honaryar -- and their families.

India is carrying out the evacuation missions in coordination with the US and several other friendly countries.