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The return of the Taliban in Afghanistan has stoked much fear and dejection among all amid the conclusion of withdrawal operations of military troops, as well as civilian evacuation.
A jawan hailing from Kendrapara who has also returned back to Odisha from Afghanistan has recounted his traumatic experience on the developments of past few weeks in the war-torn Asian nation.
Deepak Choudhary, the Odia ITBP jawan was engaged at Indian Embassy for Trade and Commerce in Afghanistan's Kandahar for ensuring the security of the Public Diplomacy Officers. Choudhary hails from Naladia Sashan village under Mahakalapada block of Kendrapara district.
It was Choudhary along with several ITBP jawans who had evacuated around seven Public Diplomacy Officers from the Indian Consulate while the Taliban extremists had opened gunfire and launched rocket strikes in Kabul killing many.
While Choudhary was stationed in Kandahar amid the deteriorating security situation, his family was worried about his safety. However, his homecoming has now given a new lease of life to his anxious family members.
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"The entire evacuation operation lasted for about 60-62 hours. When we escorted the diplomats in two vehicles from the Indian Consulate in Kandahar, Talibani terrorists had already created ruckus on road. Though they also opened fire on our vehicles, we took road diversions multiple times and stuck with safe routes to avoid any mishap. Anyhow, we safely travelled to the airport which was around 30-40 kms from the Indian Consulate. It took us around 2 hrs to reach the destination," said Choudhary while narrating the evacuation operation.
The Odia jawan along with 46 other ITBP commandos safely evacuated the diplomats and others from the Indian Consulate and arrived at the airport. From there, all were airlifted to New Delhi on Indian Air Force's C-17 Globemaster aircraft.
Touching upon his experience, Choudhary further said, "Normally, we used to experience gunfire and explosions in Afghanistan. However, Taliban takeover of the country deteriorated the security situation so much so that the walls of the building we lived in vibrated due to the blasts while the glasses in the room cracked."
