New Delhi: On Sunday evening, an Air India flight AI244 carrying 129 passengers from Afghanistan’s capital Kabul landed in Delhi. Among them was a woman who expressed despair over the state of affairs in Afghanistan and broke down while speaking to the media at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The woman said, “I cannot believe the world abandoned Afghanistan. Our friends are going to get killed. Taliban are going to kill us. Our women are not going to have any more rights.” The passengers of the Air India flight also included some common citizens, several Afghan politicians, diplomats and security officials posted in the Indian Embassy in Kabul.

The Afghan nationals, who arrived in Delhi on the flight were all concerned about the safety and security of people back home, saying the situation is ‘really bad’ in Afghanistan. Many Afghan students who study in India were also on the flight from Kabul. Speaking to the media, Abdullah Masudi, a BBA student of Bengaluru, said, “People were rushing to banks. I did not see any violence but I cannot say that there was no violence. My family is in Afghanistan. My flight was pre-planned. Many people left Kabul.”

“There is calm in most parts of Afghanistan. Almost all political persons like ministers have left Kabul. Around 200 people have come to Delhi. I feel this is new Taliban that will allow women to work,” said Rizwanullah Ahmadzai, senior advisor to Afghan President in Public Health Affairs who arrived in Delhi.

Another Afghan MP, Abdul Qadir Zazai, said upon his arrival in Delhi: “There was a peace agreement between the Afghan government and the Taliban. It was just a handover process. Now, the situation is calm in Kabul. Pakistan is one of the close supporters of the Taliban. My family is still in Kabul.”

Meanwhile, a former MP and second cousin to former Afghan president Hamid Karzai, Jamil Karzai, said, “Kabul was occupied by the Taliban when I left the city. I think there will be a new government. Whatever has happened has happened because of Ashraf Ghani. He betrayed Afghanistan. People will not forgive him.”

The situation in Afghanistan worsened further later on Sunday night and with Ashraf Ghani stepping down as president of the country, the Taliban has taken full control of the war-torn country as well as the presidential palace. As per reports, President Ashraf Ghani along with National Security Adviser Hamdullah Muhib and head of the administrative office of President Fazel Mahmood Fazli left Afghanistan for Tajikistan.

Earlier in the day, the Taliban entered the capital city of Kabul, and an official with the militant group said it would soon announce the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from the presidential palace a return rich in symbolism to the name of the country under the Taliban government ousted by US-led forces after the 9/11 attacks.

Reacting to the grave situation of Afghanistan, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres briefed the media and said, “Deeply concerned about the situation in Afghanistan and urge Taliban and others to exercise utmost restraint to protect lives and ensure humanitarian needs can be met. UN remains determined to contribute to a peaceful settlement and promote human rights of all Afghans.”

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on leaving the presidential palace 

Soon after leaving the country, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani took to social media to make a statement. His Facebook post, said that from now on, the Taliban will be responsible for the “honour, wealth and preservation” of Afghanistan’s people. Ghani said he was faced with a “hard choice” between the “armed Taliban” or “leaving the dear country that I dedicated my life to protecting the past 20 years”.
He added that the terrorist group had won a “trial of sword and guns”, but could not win the hearts of the Afghan people. “If left unchecked, countless patriots would be martyred and the city of Kabul would be devastated, resulting in a major humanitarian catastrophe in the six-million-strong city,” he said.