Thiruvananthapuram, August 22 (BPNS)

The Union government has airlifted a group of Indians and around forty-five Keralites are in the group who have reached New Delhi on Sunday.

A person from North Kerala who was in Afghanistan for the past few years and who is back in New Delhi while speaking to IANS on conditions of anonymity said,” It has been a nightmare and I don’t know how to express it. There are several check-posts erected by Taliban and getting up to the airport was a herculean task and I thank the Government of India and the Government of Kerala for having helped all of us back to India. All the Keralites are back to the country.”

Union Minister of State for External affairs, V. Muraleedharan while speaking to media persons at Kochi said,” Government of India has brought in a group of Indians in which Keralites are also there. According to our information, around 500 Indians are still stranded in various areas of Afghanistan and we will be airlifting them as well.”

Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan thanked the Government of India and Prime Minister, Narendra Modi for bringing the Keralites back to the country from Afghanistan.

Chief Minister of Kerala in a tweet called upon anyone who is still stranded back in Afghanistan to contact the NORKA Roots website or the helpline of the External affairs of the Indian affairs ministry which is working 24X7.

Former Indian diplomat, Venu Rajamoni while speaking to media said that there is however no exact data on the number of Indian’s and Keralites working in Afghanistan as several people who reach that country from UAE and other countries do not register with the embassy. However, he said that the Indian embassy has operational contacts with the Taliban as was evident on the evacuation.