Taliban captured Afghanistan in just 22 days

Ground Report | New Delhi: Taliban captured Afghanistan; On 23 June this year, just 22 days earlier, the United Nations warned that the Taliban had captured 50 of Afghanistan's 370 districts. The warning from Debra Lyons, the UN special envoy in Afghanistan, came as a surprise because the discussions then centered around the return of Western forces and the Taliban's advance had gone unnoticed.

Then, last week a report was published in the US saying that within 30 days the Taliban would be at the mouth of the capital Kabul and could take over the country within 90 days. Within a week of this warning and just 22 days after the first warning, the Taliban took power in Afghanistan.

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On Sunday, the Taliban entered the capital, Kabul, and the country's President Ashraf Ghani fled abroad. He said that he wanted to avoid bloodshed. A Taliban spokesman said the war was over and the Afghan people would soon know what the new government would be like.

Taliban captured Afghanistan

On Sunday, when news of the Taliban's entry into Kabul started spreading, there was a stampede across the city. Helicopters from America and other Western countries were hovering in the sky to evacuate their employees and civilians.

Kabul's international airport was jammed and hundreds of people waited for flights to leave the country. A source told news agency Reuters that there were also fights between people over seats on the planes.

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According to local television 1TV, explosions were heard in several places in the city during the night but the capital remained more or less quiet during the day. A social organization 'Emergency' told that 80 injured were brought to the hospital but only those who have fatal wounds are being admitted.

President left the country

On Sunday, the country's President Ashraf Ghani left Afghanistan. However, it is not yet known where he has gone and how the transfer of power will take place.

In a Facebook post, Ghani said he had left the country to avert the bloodshed so that the lives of millions of Kabul's people would not be in danger. He didn't say where he was. However, many locals on social media called him a coward who ran away leaving him in chaos.

Similar stampedes were also seen in American and other Western workers. US personnel were airlifted to the airport from the embassy located in the city's fortified 'Wazir Akbar Khan' area.

European countries have also started the work of taking back their citizens. However, Russia has said it sees no reason to evacuate its embassy. Turkey has also said that its embassy will continue to function regularly.

Scared people

A Taliban spokesman said his government wanted good relations with the international community. But, many Afghans fear that the Taliban will return to the same horrific form that inhumanely tortured people from 1996 to 2001.

During their five-year rule, the Taliban imposed Sharia law on the country in Afghanistan. During that time, women were banned from studying and working. Punishments like stone pelting, whipping, and public death was given in the country.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the Taliban and other parties to exercise restraint. He has expressed particular concern about the future of women and girls.

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