Romania’s foreign ministry on Saturday said 61 vulnerable Afghans have been removed from Afghanistan so far since the Taliban takeover last month.
Afghanistan
The ministry said 45 Afghan nationals were taken out of Afghanistan on Saturday and are now safely in Pakistan.
They were taken by a diplomat from Romania’s embassy in Islamabad to a place where they will remain pending their arrival in Romania.
On Friday, five Afghans from the “essential persons” category were also evacuated. They are now safely in Pakistan pending visa procedures to Romania.
War-torn territory
Other ‘essential’ Afghans were removed from the war-torn territory earlier on.
Romania’s top defense body, the Supreme Council for National Defense agreed on Aug,.25 to evacuated and relocate Afghan citizens who had worked for NATO missions in Afghanistan.
The top executive body for security and defense issues is made up of the president, the prime minister, the defense and foreign ministers and intelligence chiefs.
Romania joined the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan in 2002, two years before it joined the military alliance.
Troops killed
Twenty-seven Romanian troops were killed and more than 200 were injured during the mission.
A crisis cell set up on Aug. 13 and coordinated by Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu is pursuing the best solutions to evacuate “essential Afghans,” a statement said.
That includes those who worked with Romanian troops in the field in Afghanistan. It also means students with grants to Romanian universities, journalists, human rights activists, magistrates and their families.
So far, 61 Afghan nationals have been evacuated. A further 49 Romanian nationals have been repatriated. The ministry said there were no more Romanians left in Afghanistan who had asked to be evacuated.
Crisis cell
“The crisis cell is continuing its work around the clock to manage the situation for Afghan citizens from the categories mentioned,” a statement said.
Afghans wanting to enter Romania will have their request processed and pass security checks, Interior Minister Lucian Bode said last week.
Romania will ‘conditionally’ accept Afghan refugees at ‘imminent risk’, interior minister says
