India / Govt to brief all political parties about Afghan situation: Jaishankar

New Delhi: The Union Government will soon brief all political parties about the Afghanistan situation and its implications on Indo-Afghan ties, confirmed External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Monday.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, S Jaishankar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed the Ministry of External Affairs to brief Floor Leaders of all political leaders about the developments in Afghanistan.

Later, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi announced that Jaishankar would inform the Floor Leaders on August 26 at Parliament House Annexe in Delhi.

It should be noted that India has closed all its consulates in Afghanistan, leaving only the embassy in Kabul operational in view of the Taliban takeover of the country.

Several Indian Air Force (IAF) flights have been deployed on the India-Afghanistan route to evacuate Indian nationals stranded in the crisis-hit country.

The Indian government is also helping the minority communities, like Sikhs and Hindus, in Afghanistan to leave the country and provide them refuge in India.

The Taliban has swept across Afghanistan this month, seizing control of almost all key towns and cities, including Kabul, in the backdrop of the withdrawal of the US forces.

The MEA has said the immediate priority for the government is to obtain accurate information about all Indian nationals currently staying in Afghanistan.

It also requested the Indians, as well as their employers, to urgently share relevant details with the special Afghanistan cell that was set up on August 16.

Sources said the cell received more than 2,000 phone calls and answered over 6,000 WhatsApp queries during the first five days of its operation. The cell answered more than 1200 e-mails during the period.