Prime Minister (PM) Sher Bahadur Deuba has said he has already issued instructions for making arrangements for rescue of Nepalis in Afghanistan.
PM Deuba has claimed he instructed on Sunday for collection of details about Nepalis in Afghanistan and to make arrangements for their rescue in case of emergency amidst concerns that lack of a foreign minister is compromising the efforts for rescue of Nepalis in Afghanistan.
"I have already instructed Sunday for collection of details about presence of Nepalis in Afghanistan and to make arrangements for their rescue in case of emergency. Necessary coordination and guardianship of Nepalis waiting for safety and rescue is the government's responsibility. The government will fulfill this responsibility with caution and gravity," Deuba has tweeted on Monday.
The Foreign Ministry on Sunday urged Nepali nationals in Afghanistan to come in contact. Issuing a statement on Sunday, the ministry urged Nepali nationals in Afghanistan or their family members to submit the details at the government website (www.nepalconsular.gov.np) for the purpose of their rescue from Afghanistan.
It also provided contact numbers of the Department of Consular Services (9849326458) and the Foreign Ministry (9849326459) to communicate about the issue. The numbers can be accessed even through Viber and WhatsApp.
The ministry, meanwhile, urged manpower agencies to provide details about the workers they have sent to Afghanistan to facilitate their rescue. The statement revealed that the government formed a high level task force for rescue of Nepalis stranded in Afghanistan and added that it corresponded to the United Nations and the European Union and countries like America, Britain, Canada, Germany and Japan to help in rescue of Nepalis and to keep them at a safe place.
The government does not have accurate data about the number of Nepalis in Afghanistan and the ministry estimates that around a thousand Nepalis may be working there as security guards.
But the actual number of Nepalis there can be in thousands with around 1,000 going there every year taking work permit. A large number of Nepalis also reach Afghanistan through illegal means every year.
Nepalis also work there as office assistants, drivers and in other positions in the UN, the European Union, the World Bank, and many foreign missions there, according to the Department of Foreign Employment.
