A day after Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani stepped down from his post and the Taliban took over control of Kabul and on August 16, Taliban Leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, was declared as the new President of Afghanistan. Also Afghanistan’s name was changed to the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’ – a name that was given to the country 20 years ago by the Taliban government that was ousted by United States-led forces after the twin tower attack in September 2001.
The Afghan Taliban had ruled the country for nearly six years from 1996 to 2001, establishing an Islamic state.
Although a US intelligence report had estimated that the fall of Kabul would take around 90 days, the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in less than two weeks. According to an AFP report, the Taliban was able to achieve this by putting deals and surrender arrangements in place reportedly long before the launch of their blitz in May.
On Monday, thousands of Afghans rushed onto the tarmac of Kabul’s international airport to escape the Taliban capture of their country that they held onto an American military jet as it took off and plunged to death in chaos that killed at least seven people, U.S. officials said. “The military plane illegally crossed the border of Uzbekistan. An investigation is under way,” ministry spokesman Bakhrom Zulfikarov told AFP.
There were no major reports of abuses, many stayed home and remained fearful as the insurgents’ advance saw prisons emptied and armories looted.
The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing an end to a two-decade campaign in which the U.S. and its allies had tried to transform Afghanistan. The country’s Western-trained security forces collapsed or fled, ahead of the planned withdrawal of the last American troops at the end of the month.
Residents raced to Kabul’s international airport, where the “civilian side” was closed until further notice, according to Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority. The U.S. military and other Western forces continued to organize evacuations.
Shafi Arifi, who had a ticket to travel to Uzbekistan on Sunday, was unable to board his plane because it was packed with people who had raced across the tarmac and climbed aboard, with no police or airport staff in sight. “There was no room for us to stand. Children were crying, women were shouting, young and old men were so angry and upset, no one could hear each other. There was no oxygen to breathe,” said the 24-year-old.
A senior U.S. official said that ‘it’s heartbreaking’ to see what’s happening in Kabul, but that President Joe Biden “stands by” his decision to pull out because he didn’t want the war there — already the longest in U.S. history — to enter a third decade.
The Indian Embassy has been shut as the situation in Kabul worsens on Monday. Staff is readying for evacuation, as only Afghan personnel will carry on work at the embassy, the sources added. Meanwhile, all military and civilian flights have been halted at Kabul airport, Pentagon said on Monday. India’s IAF aircraft was to land at Hindon at 9.30 PM, but it has not taken off so far in lieu of the situation.
India will help members of Afghanistan’s tiny Sikh and Hindu community to come to India, the foreign ministry said on Monday. “We are in constant touch with the representatives of Afghan Sikh and Hindu communities. We will facilitate repatriation to India of those who wish to leave Afghanistan,” foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a statement.
A total of 585 Afghan soldiers have arrived on aircraft and 158 more crossed the border on foot on Sunday, the Uzbek prosecutor general’s office said in a statement. The U.S. military is sending another battalion of about 1,000 troops to help safeguard the Kabul airport as American forces killed two armed individuals there during a chaotic evacuation.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres called on the world to work together Monday to ‘suppress the global terrorist threat in Afghanistan.’ “The international community must unite to make sure that Afghanistan is never again used as a platform or safe haven for terrorist organizations,” Guterres told an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan.
According to Afghan news portal Ariana, the Taliban have asked government staff to return to work.
A special flight operated by the Indian Air Force had landed in Kabul to bring back stranded Indians, including embassy staff.
