Nepali workers in Afghanistan to leave country if security not ensured

Complaining that they couldn't communicate their problems with Nepal's acting ambassador to Afghanistan Tirtha Raj Aryal, Nepali migrant workers said they were considering leaving the war-torn country if they continued to feel insecure.

Aryal visited the British Embassy in Kabul on Friday to take stock of the situation of the Nepali security guards days after 12 Nepal citizens were killed in Kabul suicide attack.

"We are happy that our ambassador came to assess our situation. But we were not allowed to put forth our views in group," Kathmandu Post quoted a Nepali security guard deputed for the security of the British Embassy as saying over phone.

"Only two-three of our colleagues were allowed to speak. But they could not express our problems freely," the migrant worker added.

The Nepali workers had urged the Nepali Embassy to make arrangements for the ambassador to visit Anjuman Camp, where they reside.

Nearly 400 Nepali workers reportedly have been deployed for the security of the British Embassy, diplomatic staffers, and Common Wealth Office in the Afghan capital by an American security services company, G4S Secure Solution.

Another Nepali working in Kabul for the past nine years said, "If only a few people are allowed to speak, we'll be targeted by the company. We want to tell the ambassador about the challenges we have been facing. But we didn't get an opportunity for it."

The Nepali guards expressed that they were worried about having to commute to their workplace from the camp without security and requested the Nepali embassy to ask the company to arrange for their stay in the same place where the others reside.

They also said that if they continue to feel insecure, they would consider leaving the country.

"It's hard for us to work in Afghanistan in the current situation," said another Nepali worker, adding that they were considering leaving the war-torn country if they continued to feel insecure.