Kathmandu, Nepal, August 17, 2021: As Taliban took full control of Afghanistan including its capital city, Kabul since Sunday, the fate of Nepalese migrant workers working in crisis-ridden Afghanistan has become a matter of concerns to all.
Though exact number of Nepalese migrant workers in Afghanistan is not ascertained yet, the government has estimated that about 1,500 Nepalese nationals would have working in Afghanistan, particularly in UN missions and embassies of different countries as security guards.
However, it is feared that the number Nepalese migrant workers in Afghanistan would be higher than the estimate made by the government. Though there is no official record, it is used to say earlier that over 14,000 Nepali citizens would have reached Afghanistan for seeking jobs through the informal channels.
As various countries are scrambling to evacuate their citizens, Nepal government has also made several efforts to evacuate and repatriate the Nepalese migrant workers. The government has already sent letters to the various countries and the United Nations to keep Nepali nationals working with various diplomatic missions and international organizations in Afghanistan in safe places and help their repatriation home.
Likewise, the government has already urged the Nepalese migrant workers to come in contact with the officials if they want evacuation and repatriation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that 134 Nepalese have registered their details on the web portal of the Department of Consular Services till 6 pm on Monday.
Likewise, 164 Nepali migrant workers have already returned home from Afghanistan after Taliban began to capture Afghanistan. According to records of the Immigration office at Tribhuvan International Airport, 164 Nepalese and two Afghan nationals have arrived in Nepal in past 10 days.
It is said that three hundred and eighty-five Nepalese working at the US Embassy in Kabul have already been flown to Doha, the capital of Qatar, by a special US military ship on Monday. Likewise, the British government has also rescued 87 Nepalese working at the British embassy in Kabul and planning to send them in Nepal. Similarly, 60 Nepalese working at the Canadian embassy and the Nepalese nationals with same number working at the German embassy are being prepared to send to Nepal.
It is said that four hundred and seventy Nepalese working in UN Agencies like UNHCR, IOM are kept in a hotel in Kabul. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that those people who are kept in Hotel are being sent in Nepal through the concerned agencies.
Meanwhile, Minister for Home Affairs, Bal Krishna Khand, has on Monday directed the authorities concerned to prepare for evacuation and repatriation of Nepalese migrant workers living in Afghanistan.
Inviting the concerned officials of the Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation, Ministry of Labor Employment and chiefs of four security bodies- Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and the National Investigation Department, Home Ministry Khand directed to this effect.
