The Taliban escorted a group of Indian citizens to the airport 0
On August 16, not long after the Taliban took over Kabul, chaos engulfed Hamid Karzai International Airport as thousands of people rushed there hoping to find a flight to take them out of the country.
Sonia Sarkar, a reporter from New Delhi, India, was also in Kabul at the time the crisis broke out.
Sarkar’s Afghan contacts advised her not to leave her hotel room in Kabul.
A military plane evacuated 120 Indian citizens from Kabul, Afghanistan.
However, Sarkar wanted to return home quickly.
`What worried me more was the fact that some local female contacts asked me if I had left the country. They said the Taliban was searching for Afghan female journalists,` Sarkar recalled.
`But you’re Indian,` one contact replied.
India strongly supports the Afghan government, opposes the Taliban and the two sides do not have any direct communication channel.
While Sarkar was wondering what to do next, the Indian embassy contacted her and another female reporter from her country.
She hurriedly called a local taxi driver, but the driver said it would take some time for him to reach her because the streets had become so chaotic.
`When I stepped out of the hotel, the street outside was quiet, but I could see men wearing shalwar kameez, traditional Afghan clothing, patrolling. Some people had set up stations.`
After picking up the remaining female reporter, they headed straight to Wazir Akbar Khan, the diplomatic compound in Kabul.
Female reporter Sonia Sarkar was on a military plane leaving Afghanistan on August 17.
`We can’t leave. That means we’ll miss our chance to leave Afghanistan. And I’m afraid I won’t have anywhere to go because I checked out of the hotel and it’s now full of
The taxi driver convinced the gunmen that they had to enter the diplomatic compound.
Finally, Indian embassy staff called an intermediary to persuade the gunmen to block the door to let the two female reporters in.
Sarkar and his female colleague hesitated but were also afraid that if they said `no`, they would get into trouble.
`When I stepped through the embassy doors, a feeling of relief welled up in me,` Sarkar said.
It is not known when the plan to reach the airport will be implemented because at that time, Indian diplomats were still negotiating with the Taliban about establishing a safe route.
`We have to depend on their caprices,` the embassy official said.
At around 10:00 p.m. on August 16, Sarkar and his female colleague were suddenly called together to get on the bus.
`So I left my suitcase full of clothes behind,` she said.
This time, Taliban forces escorted 22 vehicles carrying 120 Indian citizens towards Kabul airport, where a military plane was waiting after New Delhi decided to close its embassy in Afghanistan.
`Near the airport, we saw hundreds of people walking on the streets, many carrying weapons. As we got closer, we saw more women and children. No one was carrying luggage and it looked like
Every time the crowd became chaotic, Taliban fighters patrolling the streets fired into the air.
Since taking control of the capital, the Taliban has increased propaganda to portray a new image of the force.
However, many local women told Sarkar that they are still afraid every time they step out of their homes.
In the early morning of August 17, Sarkar’s group passed by a Lebanese restaurant and a cafe and stopped in front of the waiting hall for the flight back to India.
`As we walked up the stairs to enter the waiting room, they offered us water and told us to wear a white bracelet. After a few minutes, the Indian nationals were asked to remove their bracelets and face the machine.`
Vu Hoang (According to SCMP)
