New Delhi: India on Tuesday brought back 78 people, including Keralite nun Sister Theresa from Dushanbe, a day after they were evacuated from Kabul to the Tajik city.
The group included 25 Indian nationals and a number of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus.
The group along with three copies of the Guru Granth Sahib was airlifted from Kabul to Dushanbe by a military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Monday.
The evacuees were received at the Indira Gandhi International Airport by Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and V Muraleedharan.
"Blessed to receive and pay obeisance to three holy Swaroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji from Kabul to Delhi a short while ago," Puri tweeted.
An Air India flight brought back the people from Dushanbe.
"Joined Minister Shri @HardeepSPuri ji at Delhi Airport in receiving Swaroop of Shri Guru Granth Sahib ji arrived from Afghanistan along with evacuees," Muraleedharan tweeted.
Earlier, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said 78 people are being brought to Delhi on an Air India flight.
"Helping in the safe return from Afghanistan. AI 1956 en route to Delhi from Dushanbe carrying 78 passengers, including 25 Indian nationals. Evacuees were flown in from Kabul on an @IAF_MCC aircraft," he said on Twitter.
Sister Theresa reaches safety
Sister Theresa, a Keralite nun who was reportedly trying to get out of trouble-torn Afghanistan had on Monday managed to reach the neighboring Tajikistan which is one of the bases for carrying out emergency airlifts by a few countries.
The relatives of Sr Theresa heaved a sigh of relief at their home in Badiedukka in Kerala's northermost Kasaragod district on Monday with news coming in that she had reached Tajikistan safely from Afghanistan.
The family received the information at 2 pm on Monday that the nun was about to board the flight to India from Tajikistan. The information brought a huge relief to her mother Celine D'souza, her sibling Louis Crasto and other family members.
Sr Theresa was stranded at her Kabul residence for more than a week with absolutely no way to get out. The situation became worse when the family members were not able to connect with her after Friday.
A member of the Mangalore Province of the Sisters of Charity Sr Theresa, 50, was working as a teacher at a school for differently-abled children near Hamid Karzai International Airport at Kabul. The school functions under the supervision of Italy.
The nun had booked a ticket to reach New Delhi on August 17. However, with the hardline Islamist force Taliban taking over the reins of power by then, it was difficult to gain access to the airport.
She reportedly reached Tajikistan in a US army aircraft.
The Sisters of Charity
The Sisters of Charity was founded in Lovere, Italy, by a young woman named Bartolomea Capitanio in 1832. The congregation is also known as the Sisters of Maria Bambina. The members of its Mangalore Province are active in Karnataka and Kerala. Several nuns are posted abroad for missionary activities.
