NEW DELHI, 11 August 2021, (TON): India today asked all citizens living in and around Afghanistan's third largest city Mazar-e-Sharif to return home by a special flight this evening, amidst reports that the Taliban are preparing to launch an attack to capture the city.

The Indian Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif tweeted "a special flight is leaving from Mazar-e-Sharif to New Delhi. Any Indian nationals in and around Mazar-e-Sharif are requested to leave for India in the special flight scheduled to depart late today evening."

In a separate post, it said, "Indian citizens desiring to leave by special flight should immediately convey their full name, passport number and date of expiry by whatsapp."