France evacuated 21 Indians from Kabul: French envoy

New Delhi [India] August 18 (ANI): Twenty-one Indian nationals were on the first French evacuation flight from Kabul, said Emmanuel Lenain, ambassador of France to India on Wednesday.

Lenain said that Elite Gurkhas were ensuring security to this evacuation flight.

“The first French evacuation flight from Kabul yesterday included 21 Indian nationals: the elite Gurkhas who were ensuring security of the French Embassy,” Lenain said in a tweet.

France and India are actively coordinating to tackle the Afghanistan crisis, Lenain added.

“As discussed in a call between Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian and External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar, France coordinates actively with India on Afghanistan, especially at UNSC,” the ambassador said in a series of tweets.

In a recent development, the Joe Biden administration has frozen about USD 9.5 billion of Afghan reserves to keep cash away from the Taliban after the takeover of the country, The Washington Post reported.

The Taliban has been celebrating its “so-called” victory with videos posted on social media showing many purported Taliban frolicking at an amusement park in Herat and enjoying rides on bumper cars and on a merry-go-around.

Viral videos cited by the New York Post shows the alleged Taliban at an entertainment site in the city of Herat, which the Islamic group captured on Thursday as it overtook Afghanistan after a US pullout, as per reports.

Meanwhile, the Taliban leaders are discussing future government plans in Doha and are in touch with the international community and intra-Afghan parties to constitute the government in Afghanistan.

The world is closely watching the unfolding situation in Afghanistan as the countries have scrambled to evacuate their citizens from Afghanistan in an attempt to secure their people. (ANI)