As Taliban forces took control of Afghanistan and besieged the state power on Sunday, tensions and worries spilled over the countries across the globe whose citizens are living and working there. Fear, chaos and uncertainty has gripped the war-torn South Asian country and the life of not only Afghanis but the foreign nationals is also in danger.

Many media reports and video footages have been showing the horrific situation of Kabul International Airport where thousands of Afghan nationals and foreign citizens have thronged to leave the country. Nepal government does not have official data about its citizens living and working there. However, it is unofficially said that around fifteen hundred Nepali nationals are living in the country.

Among them, as many as 118 Nepalis who were deployed for the security of US Embassy in Kabul have arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday. The US army had rescued them from Kabul to Kuwait. They returned home from Kuwait on a chartered plane. The fate of remaining Nepalis is still uncertain and it is thus important to gather facts about their situation.

As the fighting between the Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters heightened in the past week, lawmakers at the both Houses raised voices to rescue the Nepali migrants from Afghanistan. Besides, public voices from across the country also prompted the government to take immediate actions to bring them back.

As a result, the government formed a task force under the coordination of Middle Asia, West Asia and Africa Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday to facilitate the initiative to rescue Nepalis from Afghanistan. The task force has taken necessary initiatives on war footing. It has decided to enhance the use of social media with Nepali nationals stranded in Afghanistan and manage COVID-19 test and quarantine for the returnee migrants.

The first meeting of the task force has also requested the concerned Nepali migrants and their families to inform about their whereabouts and situation in Afghanistan. Similarly, a Cabinet meeting held on Monday decided to airlift the Nepalis stranded in Afghanistan safely.

The government also decided to instruct the concerned bodies in the country and the diplomatic missions abroad to play coordinated roles for the safe evacuation of the fellow citizens. Meanwhile, Minister for Home Affairs Bal Krishna Khand is also on full move. On Monday, he directed secretaries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Tourism and culture and Civil Aviation to immediately start necessary procedures for the rescue of the fellow citizens.

Home Minister Khand instructed security heads of Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, National Investigation Department as well as two-star generals from Nepali Army to take sincere initiatives for the immediate search and rescue of Nepali citizens from the country in turmoil.

Since the government has no official data about the Nepali migrants working in Afghanistan, it is high time for the migrant Nepalis themselves and their family members in Nepal to coordinate with the concerned government agencies to provide necessary information for their safe return home. The government agencies should play effective role to take the Nepalis back from Afghanistan without any harm.

It is important we leave no stone unturned to ensure our fellow citizens, who are stranded in the embattled country, can return home safely at the earliest.