All Afghans must travel to India on e-Visa: Govt

New Delhi: The Union Home ministry on Wednesday announced that all Afghan nationals henceforth must travel to India only on e-Visa in view of the prevailing situation in Afghanistan.

The decision comes days after the government introduced a new category of visa called "e-Emergency X-Misc visa" for the Afghan nationals after the Taliban captured power in that country.

"Owing to the prevailing security situation in Afghanistan and streamlining of the visa process by introduction of the 'e-Emergency X-Misc visa', it has been decided that all Afghan nationals henceforth must travel to India only on e-Visa," a Home ministry statement said.

The Home ministry also announced that keeping in view some reports that certain passports of Afghan nationals have been misplaced, previously issued visas to all Afghan nationals, who are presently not in India, stand invalidated with immediate effect.

"Afghan nationals wishing to travel to India may apply for e-Visa," it said.

Officials said since Indian missions in Afghanistan are shut, the applications will be examined and processed in New Delhi.

The "e-Emergency X-Misc visa" will initially be valid for six months, they said. All Afghans, irrespective of their religion, can apply for the travel document.

Thousands of Afghans rushed into Kabul's main airport after the fall of the city to the Taliban, some so desperate to escape the insurgents that they held onto a US military plane as it took off and plunged to their deaths.

India has evacuated all its Embassy staff and several hundred Indians staying in Afghanistan. New Delhi has also evacuated many Afghans, including two MPs, Hindus and Sikhs who faced threats from the Taliban.

The Taliban have already enforced their rule over the capital of five million people after a lightning advance across the country that took just over a week to dethrone the country's Western-backed government in mid-August.

Meanwhile, the G-7 countries are united on their stand on Taliban and they agreed that the legitimacy of any future government in Afghanistan depends on the armed group's approach to prevent the war-torn nation from being used as a "base for terrorism", US President Joe Biden has said.

Biden's remarks on Tuesday came hours after a virtual meeting with the leaders of the G-7 bloc, the UN, NATO and the European Union. G-7 is an inter-governmental political forum of seven advanced nations comprising the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK.

"The G-7 leaders and the leaders of the EU, NATO and the UN, all agreed that we will stand united in our approach to the Taliban," Biden told reporters at the White House.

"We agreed that the legitimacy of any future government (in Afghanistan) depends on the approach it (Taliban) now takes to uphold international obligations, including to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a base for terrorism," he said.

Biden said the G-7 countries have agreed that none of them is going to take the Taliban's word for it.

"We'll judge them by their actions, and we'll stay in close coordination on any steps that we take moving forward in response to the Taliban's behaviour," he said.

"At the same time, we renewed our humanitarian commitment to the Afghan people and supported a proposal by the Secretary-General Guterres of the United Nations-led international response with unfettered humanitarian access in Afghanistan," Biden said.

The G-7 countries also talked about their mutual obligation to support refugees and evacuees currently fleeing Afghanistan, he said, adding that the US will be a leader in these efforts. With agency inputs