Kabul: The Taliban captured Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, took over the presidential palace in 10 days on Sunday,15 August, after 20 years of war and the astonishingly quick collapse of the government, which triggered fear and panic in the capital. The situation turned grave as President Ashraf Ghani fled the war-torn country.
Ghani fled the country as the terror group encircled Kabul; the Taliban sealed a nationwide military victory that saw all cities fall to them in just 10 days. Ghani said that saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed
In a statement posted on Facebook, Ghani said, “The Taliban have won with the judgment of their swords and guns, and are now responsible for the honor, property, and self-preservation of their countrymen”
“Today is a great day for the Afghan people and the Mujahideen. They have witnessed the fruits of their efforts and their sacrifices for 20 years,” Mohammad Naeem, the spokesman for the Taliban’s political office, told Al Jazeera TV. Naeem said the form of the new regime would be made clear soon, further adding the Taliban did not want to live in isolation calling just for peaceful international relations.
Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar announced his victory in a video message posted on social media. He said, “Now, it’s time to test and prove. Now, we have to show that we can serve our nation and ensure security and comfort of life.”
Horror, distress, and disorder gripped the capital with sights of crowded airports emerged on the internet, as swarms of people desperately tried to flee the nation.
Afganistan government collapse after the US exit
The US President Joe Biden faced severe criticism after sticking to a plan, initiated by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, to end the US military mission in Afghanistan by Aug. 31.
In a statement on Sunday, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell blamed Biden for what he called a “shameful failure of American leadership”. “Terrorists and major competitors like China are watching the embarrassment of a superpower laid low,” McConnell further added.
Biden as a promise to airlifted all American troops at the end of August, and insisted there would be no alarming evacuation. However, American officials, fearing the Taliban’s, we’re all trying to flee the country on Sunday, AFP reported.
It was very hard for the Afgan people to evacuate through the final few commercial flights, Rakhshanda Jilali, a human rights activist told Reuters, “How can they hold the airport and dictate terms and conditions to Afghans? “This is our airport but we are seeing diplomats being evacuated while we wait in complete uncertainty,” Jilali added.
AFP reported that an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan has been planned for Sunday.
The Talibani control comes with utmost fear over the imposition of Islamic Religious Law, under which women will have no right to work and people would be hanged in public.
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