Presently around 700 Afghan military officers, soldiers, cadets with their 100 dependents are in India. These Afghan nationals were attending training courses at various Indian military institutes when the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August after the withdrawal of the US army.
Now, the Indian Army is providing every possible help to these Afghan military personnel. A senior army officer said that the army has been taking proactive measures to assist the stranded Afghan military personnel and their families. The Indian army is jointly working with the Foreign Ministry to extend their visas by 6 months and also helping the ones who want to immigrate to other countries.
“Psychological support through counselling is also being provided to those trainees under stress over the developments in their home country. The ones who have passed out are residing in India under their own arrangements due to the Afghan embassy’s inability to help or fund them. There is the danger of them falling prey to inimical agencies,” another army officer said.
