New Delhi: A C-17 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force is on standby to fly to Kabul and bring home Indian nationals who are stuck in the war-torn country after the Taliban takeover, reports said.
The IAF aircraft will go to Kabul as soon as enough Indian nationals are able to move to the airport in the Afghan capital, they added.
Meanwhile, senior Taliban leader Sher Mohammed Abbas Stanekzai reached out to the Indian side with a surprise request: Would India retain its diplomatic presence in Afghanistan? These messages – sent from the office of Abbas Stanikzai, the chief of the Taliban’s political unit – were routed via contacts in Kabul and Delhi, and were delivered before the embassy evacuations, reports said.