India asks citizens in Afghanistan’s Mazar-e-Sharif to return home by special flight today

India today asked all citizens living in and around Afghanistan's third largest city Mazar-e-Sharif to return home by a special flight this evening, amidst reports that the Taliban are preparing to launch an attack to capture the city.

"A special flight is leaving from Mazar-e-Sharif to New Delhi. Any Indian nationals in and around Mazar-e-Sharif are requested to leave for India in the special flight scheduled to depart late today evening," the Indian Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif tweeted.

In a separate post, it said, "Indian citizens desiring to leave by special flight should immediately convey their full name, passport number and date of expiry by whatsapp." 

In July, India had pulled out all its personnel from Kandahar by a special flight as Taliban surged into the city. The Indian diplomatic mission in Kandahar is now manned by local Afghan staff.