Indians in Afghanistan asked to be in touch with Embassy

New Delhi, Jun 25 (UNI) India has asked all its nationals working in Afghanistan to be in constant touch with the Indian embassy in Kabul and also demand security from the private enterprises they are employed with.

This was necessitated following danger to the lives, abductions and subsequent killings of Indian engineers and technical staff working on various projects--both government and private--in the war-torn country.

There have also been intelligence reports that Al Badr, a pro-Pakistan terrorist group, had been asked to target Indians working on various developmental projects in Afghanistan, sources said.

Some parts of the country have recently witnessed a spurt in violence and increased Taliban activities and fresh fighting between US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the Taliban.

There are about 2000 Indian nationals working on various projects in Afghanistan.

The government is also in constant touch with the Hamid Karzai administration to ensure the safety of Indians in Afghanistan.

Minister of State for External Affair E Ahamed said the Indian embassy in Kabul also issues updated advisories to Indians on the security situation and the need to take appropriate precautionary measures.

''All Indian nationals in Afghanistan have been advised to be in constant touch with our embassy and consulates in Afghanistan. In addition, on our embassy's insistence, the government of Afghanistan has deployed local police guards at the sites of Indian projects in Afghanistan,'' he said.

Mr Ahamed said the Indian embassy had also advised Indian nationals working with private companies, international organisations and the government of Afghanistan to ask their employers to provide them adequate security.

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