Rush on Kabul airport as Afghans flee Taliban takeover
Afghans rushed onto the tarmac of the capital’s airport on Monday as thousands tried to flee the country after the Taliban seized power with stunning speed.
National Geographic magazine’s famed green-eyed “Afghan Girl” has arrived in Italy as part of the West’s evacuation of Afghans following the Taliban takeover of the country, the Italian government said Thursday.
KABUL, September 9: As a nurse at one of Kabul's main hospitals, Latifa Alizada was the breadwinner for her family, providing for her three young boys and unemployed husband.
Now -- since the Taliban rolled into Afghanistan's capital -- she too is jobless, and worried about the future.
The 27-year-old left her role at Jamhuriat Hospital because the hardline Islamist group said salaries would not be paid, and imposed rules that would force her to wear a face veil and be segregated from male colleagues.
"I have left my job because there is no salary. There is no salary at all," she said, holding the hands of two of her boys who chewed on sweetcorn cobs.
"If I go there, they say 'do not work with this style of dress. Do not work with men. Work with women'. This is impossible," she told AFP at a street market in Kabul.
"For us, there is no difference between men and women, because we are medical workers." Afghans like Alizada worry about what lies ahead under the Taliban.
Food prices have gone up at markets, the cost of fuel has risen and there are fewer opportunities to make money.
The United Nations this week warned prices for essential goods were soaring in Afghanistan, adding: "There are fears of food shortages, higher inflation, and a slump in the currency all resulting in an intensification of the humanitarian emergency across the country."
Many government services are no longer functioning, while the international community -- which has long propped up the aid-dependent economy -- hesitates over funding Afghanistan.
- Cash in short supply -
In some sectors that are operating, the Taliban have offered wildly different salaries.
A former customs official, who did not want to be named for security reasons, told AFP he had worked at the Spin Boldak border crossing with Pakistan for more than seven years.
Under the previous government he earned about $240 per month, but the Taliban said they would pay him just $110.
"It is up to you if you want to continue your job, or quit," the Taliban told him. The official said he resigned after weighing up his salary against the cost of the long commute to work.
The sight of big crowds queueing to get into banks to access cash is now commonplace across Afghanistan.
The country's central bank only has access to a fraction of its usual financing, cut off from the international banking system and access to the country's foreign currency reserves.
It means cash is in short supply and the Taliban are enforcing a withdrawal limit of $200 per person each week.
In the capital on Wednesday about 150 men jostled in the midday sun outside a branch of Kabul Bank, where government employees under the last administration held accounts.
An armed security guard clutched an electric cable to use as a whip in case the crowd grew too boisterous as they queued for one of the two ATMs.
Abdullah told AFP he travelled overnight from the northeastern province of Takhar, which borders Tajikistan, to get to the branch at the crack of dawn -- and he was still at the back of the queue at noon.
- Worried about the future -
"The problem is that after the collapse of the government, all the banks were closed," the 31-year-old former army commando said.
He told AFP that some soldiers like him could not access their salaries in the months leading up to the Taliban takeover in mid-August.
"I was at my post for three or four months. My salary was in the bank and I couldn't get it," he said.
Other members of the security forces complained of not getting paid at all in the months leading up to the Taliban takeover. A kitchenware shopkeeper in the capital, who did not want to give his name for security reasons, told AFP had no customers.
"Since the changes, all business has stopped," he said, sitting on a stool in front of his empty store.
"We are facing lots of problems. People are staying in their homes because there are no jobs. There is no-one to buy from us."
With high rents and next-to-no income, he worried about looking after his family of five. "We cannot find the money to feed ourselves. People are concerned about how to find their meals, morning and night. Everyone is worried about their future."
(From right) Mohamad Arif Ahamadi, his wife Safika and sons Siar and Zuber. Photos: MUKESH POKHREL ver since the most recent Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, they had been fleeing Kandahar and Kabul to Kathmandu in the hope of third-country asylum. They have been waiting in limbo for years, and have been watching the shocking images from Kabul […]
Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport Thursday, transforming a scene of desperation into one of horror in the waning days of an airlift for those fleeing the Taliban takeover. The attacks killed at least 60 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops, Afghan and U.S. officials said.
GENEVA, August 24 :The UN rights chief voiced grave concern Tuesday at the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban swept into power, saying their treatment of women would mark a "fundamental red line".
Speaking before an emergency session on Afghanistan, Michelle Bachelet urged the Taliban to honour commitments to respect the rights of women and girls, and ethnic and religious minorities, and refrain from reprisals.
"The onus is now fully on the Taliban to translate these commitments into reality," she said.
"I strongly urge the Taliban to adopt norms of responsive governance and human rights, and to work to re-establish social cohesion and reconciliation, including through respect for the rights of all who have suffered during the decades of conflict," Bachelet told the council.
"A fundamental red line will be the Taliban's treatment of women and girls," she said, urging "respect for their rights to liberty, freedom of movement, education, self expression and employment."
"In particular, ensuring access to quality secondary education for girls will be an essential indicator of commitment to human rights."
Tuesday's meeting comes as US troops lead increasingly desperate efforts to airlift thousands of people out of Kabul after the Taliban warned evacuations could continue only for another week.
Crowds continue to mass outside the airport, with many Afghans terrified of facing life under the Taliban.
The militants have repeatedly promised a different kind of rule to their brutal regime of the 1990s that saw women confined to their homes, most entertainment banned, and punishments including stonings and public executions.
But their rebranding is being treated with scepticism amid reports that Taliban fighters have been going door-to-door in recent days searching for opponents -- including journalists.
Even before the Taliban takeover, the UN says Afghanistan saw a sharp increase in civilian casualties in recent months.
Bachelet said her office had received credible reports of serious violations in places that have been under Taliban control, including summary executions, restrictions of women's rights, blocking girls from attending school and recruitment of child soldiers.
"Human rights violations undermine the legitimacy of the perpetrators, both vis-a-vis the people, and also with respect to regional and international institutions and other states," she warned.
