How India worked with US to airlift citizens from chaos-hit Kabul

The Ministry of External Affairs coordinated closely with the US establishment to repatriate Indian diplomats, soldiers and civilians from Taliban-controlled Kabul on Tuesday, according to a report. 

Although External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was in touch with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, deeper operational-level cooperation between the two sides was the key to the successful extraction of Indians from the chaos-hit Afghan capital, The Indian Express reported.

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Hash Vardhan Shringla supervised the Indian side’s contacts with the US; at the operational level, MEA Joint Secretary (Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran) JP Singh remained in constant touch with US Charge d’ Affaires Atul Keshap. The cabinet secretariat was also involved in the process, the newspaper said.

Also read: Our focus is on ensuring security, safe return of Indians from Kabul: Jaishankar

Keshap was in communication with the US base commander in Kabul airport to ensure that the convoy would not be turned away, the report said. 

The Indians moved at night and reached one of the gates of the US-controlled technical section of the airport, the newspaper said. Upon arriving, they saw a huge crowd. The Indians were told it was not the designated gate on that day to access the airport. The US side asked them to go to another gate, with a simpler and better access to the airport.

The process was coordinated between Delhi, Kabul and Washington over several messages.

After waiting for a few hours, the Indian convoy was redirected to a particular gate. They were able to access the airport after Keshap got approvals from the US base commander.

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Once inside, the convoy was taken to an area from where they could access the Indian Air Force aircraft waiting to fly them home. There the US side, which was already busy transporting Afghan translators, tried to ensure that the Indians were at ease.

The US government’s cooperation, sources told the paper, was key to the evacuation of the Indias.

Jaishankar, who was en route to New York, also spoke to Blinken about the situation. According to the sources, this conversation played a role in facilitating the evacuation, and allowed the IAF aircraft stationed in Kabul to take off early Tuesday morning.