On Sunday, the beleaguered president of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, fled the nation to join his countrymen and foreigners in a stampede, escaping the Taliban, which announced the end of a 20-year long Western experiment designed to restore Afghanistan. Earlier that day, the Taliban invaded the city, and an official in the terrorist organization announced it the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, a return in symbolism will soon be announced. After the 9/11 attacks, US soldiers dropped the Taliban regime. The official spoke anonymously because he was not permitted to inform the media.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the nation as the militants approached on Sunday. Afghanistan's former president left the country in this tough condition; "The Afghan National Reconciliation Council leader, Abdullah Abdullah stated, "He ought to be held accountable by God." Russia's embassy in Kabul stated Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had escaped with four cars and a cash-filled chopper, leaving some money behind since all that would be wrong, reported the RIA news agency.
Despite the Taliban's promises of a smooth transition, the US Embassy halted operations and advised Americans to stay in situ rather than try to go to the airport late in the day. The two US military leaders anonymously spoke to senior military officials to discuss ongoing operations and said that commercial flights were stopped following intermittent gunfire at the airport. The evacuation was resumed on military planes, however, the suspension of commercial travel cut off one of the last remaining escape routes for Afghans fleeing the country.
Officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to discuss current military operations said the American ambassador was among those evacuated. He requested to return to the embassy, but it was unclear if he would be permitted to do so. On Sunday, President Ashraf Ghani flew out of the country as the militants closed in. Afghanistan's previous president resigned, placing the nation in a precarious scenario "The Afghan National Reconciliation Council's leader, Abdullah Abdullah, stated as much. "He should be held accountable by God.”
Despite this, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken dismissed similarities to the US withdrawal from Vietnam, as many people stared in awe as helicopters landed in the diplomatic compound to transport diplomats to a new outpost at Kabul International Airport. "This isn't Saigon," he continued. The American ambassador told officials that they talked anonymously among those being evacuated because they were not permitted to debate military actions. He asked to return to the embassy, but whether he was authorized to do so was not apparent.
Taliban militants descended on Kabul as night fell, taking over abandoned police stations and promising to ensure law and order throughout the changeover. Residents reported looting in several sections of the city, including the expensive diplomatic quarter, while social media postings urged residents to remain home and lock their doors.
Although the US and NATO spent billions of dollars over almost two decades to train the Afghan security forces, the Taliban have captured much of Afghanistan in just over a week. A few days previously, a military evaluation projected that the capital would be under rebel pressure for one month.
The Fall of Kabul is the last episode of the longest American war, which began with terror strikes led by al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and later conducted by the Taliban regime, following 11 September 2001. An assault led by the US ousted and beat the Taliban when America lost attention to the fight in the Iraq War turmoil.
For years the United States has sought an end to the war. In February 2020, then-President Donald Trump reached an agreement with the Taliban that restricted direct military action against the terrorists. When President Joe Biden revealed his plans to remove all American soldiers by the end of the month, the fighters were able to collect strength and move rapidly to capture critical locations.
According to an Afghan official, Taliban negotiators considered a power handover after the rebels took Kabul. The person, who requested anonymity to disclose the contents of the behind-closed-doors talks, described them as acrimonious.
Who would be transferred and who was negotiating among the Taliban was unknown. On the government side of the negotiations were former President Hamid Karzai, Hizb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and Gullah, a political and paramilitary organization that was an outspoken opponent of Ghani. Karzai, with his young daughters beside him, appeared in a video broadcast online and stated that he would remain in Kabul. We're working with the Taliban leadership to find a peaceful solution to the Afghan problem, he added.
Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, interim Minister of Defence, did not stop criticism of the President, who fled. He said on Twitter, they chained our hands back and sold our nation. "Curse Ghani & His Gang."
The Taliban had previously stated that its militants would not enter people's homes or interfere with their businesses and that anyone who collaborated with the Afghan government or international troops would be granted amnesty.
But in the last days in regions of the nation that the Taliban have taken, stories of vengeance killings and other harsh techniques have been made and gunshot reports on the airport have specter escalated further carnage. A woman journalist sobbing sent voice messages to colleagues as armed men came in and knocked on her doorway.
One student in Afghanistan expressed the sensation of betrayal while watching the US Embassy withdrawal. Aisha Khurram, 22, who is unclear whether she will be able to graduate in two months now says, "You have failed the young people in Afghanistan.”
"A generation... grew up with their own hands in modern Afghanistan hoped to create the country. They put in whatever we had right now, blood, effort, and sweat."
Sunday, the Taliban started to take over Jalalabad, the adjacent town which was the last biggest city in their control, apart from the capital. Afghan officials reportedly said that the activists had taken the capital of the provinces of Maidan Wardak, Khost, Kapisa, and Parn as well as the final state border post.
Afghan soldiers subsequently surrendered to the Taliban in Bagram Air Base, home to 5,000 prisoners, said District Chief Darwaish Raufi of Bagram. Taliban and Muslim State group fighters were imprisoned in jail on the former US base.
Pic Credit - Ashraf Ghani
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