Footage showed 78 Afghanistan evacuees joyfully celebrating and shouting Sikh slogans on a Tuesday evacuation flight en route to India.
The passengers, consisting of 25 Indian nationals, fled Kabul on an Indian Air Force (IAF) flight and entered Tajikistan, according to Indian External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi. The evacuees boarded the Air India Flt. 1956 from Dushanbe, Tajikistan to New Delhi in the midst of the Indian government’s efforts to evacuate its citizens from Afghanistan following the takeover of the Taliban, WION reported.
The footage showed one evacuee, who appears to be filming, singing a slogan followed by his fellow passengers repeating after him.
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) August 24, 2021
Bagchi posted earlier footage from Saturday via Twitter showing 87 passengers traveling en route to New Delhi chanting in celebration. The footage showed one man shouting followed by the others responding in cheer and throwing their fists in the air.
Jubilant evacuees on their journey home ! pic.twitter.com/3sfvSaEVK7
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) August 21, 2021
The minister of India’s External Affairs celebrated the passengers’ arrival to New Delhi and expressed his gratitude for the nation’s efforts to evacuate the citizens. (RELATED: President Biden Vows To Remain In Afghanistan Until Everyone Is Evacuated)
“Op Devi Shakti continues. 78 evacuees from Kabul arrive via Dushanbe. Salute IAF, Air India and MEA teams for their untiring efforts,” Dr. S. Jainshankar, the minister of the External Affairs of India said via social media.
India rescued 146 Indian evacuees in four different Monday flights from Qatar, Doha, including 75 Afghan Sikhs, according to WION. A few days prior, the evacuees were reportedly rescued by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and American aircrafts.
The country is expected to evacuate more of its nationals and several Afghan Sikhs and Hindus during the Taliban’s ongoing breach of Kabul, the Hindustan Time reported.
Planes evacuating Americans and Afghan refugees are reportedly departing Kabul at low capacity, including a United States Our Force C-17 Thursday flight carrying passengers at 60% capacity. The capacity rate led to the evacuation of two thousand people that day, despite the Pentagon setting a goal to evacuate 5,000 to 9,000 people per day.
President Joe Biden boasted about his administration’s support in evacuating hundreds from the French Embassy at a Friday press conference after informing the U.S. Embassy that they “cannot ensure safe passage to the airport.”
