Kabul is in the hands of the Taliban who have announced the rebirth of the Islamic Emirate . After a frantic day, characterized by the de facto surrender of the capital to the unstoppable advance of the insurgents, Afghanistan is now dramatically back in the grip of the insurgents. After a bridgehead entered the city, ostensibly to initiate negotiations and arrive at a transitional government, the fundamentalists suddenly swerved towards full seizure of power. With the mass entry of the fighters who remained waiting for the green light at the gates of the city. While President Ashraf Ghani fled to Tajikistan.
The Taliban assured that they entered the city to ensure safety, but Kabul immediately fell into chaos with the streets completely blocked for the fleeing population, shootings reported in the city and the airport “under fire”. The hypothesis circulated in the morning of a transitional government headed by former Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali and immediately evaporated with the occupation of the presidential palace.
While foreign diplomats and civilians stormed the capital’s airport, where some countries such as the United States have ensured that they will retain diplomatic representation. Italy has evacuated the embassy and the plan to evacuate diplomats and citizens has started, and has also announced an airlift for the evacuation of all Afghan collaborators of the Defense and Foreign Ministries. Emergency meetings to analyze the situation have been activated in many Western countries, while NATO has stressed that the political solution in Afghanistan is “more urgent than ever”. But the US, overwhelmed by the controversy and accused of having triggered the Taliban escalation, continued to defend its policy of withdrawing troops. Secretary of State Antony Blinken did this and rejected any comparison with Saigon and assured that the objectives of the war in Afghanistan have been achieved. But the fear is a 20-year step back.
“We watch in utter shock as the Taliban take control of Afghanistan. I am deeply concerned about women, minorities and human rights defenders,” wrote Pakistani activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai. The Taliban have assured that they have changed, and that this time they will respect women’s rights and allow them access to education. But few people believe it. And the mass flight from Kabul proves it. Thousands of people took to the streets, on foot or by car, in search of an escape route. Hundreds of Afghans have reached the Friendship Gate in the city of Chaman, on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, many carrying only a bag with their belongings after fleeing their homes. Total chaos at the airport, with people on the runways in order to get on the planes and leave the country. And an alert for security in the airport, launched by the US Embassy, ​​while NATO assured its help to manage the evacuations.
In the face of the emergency, commercial flights have been suspended, while military aircraft, engaged in the evacuation of foreigners, remain operational. It is not yet defined what the future of the country will be. But the appeal for peace and the search for a negotiated solution has come from all over the world. Starting with Pope Francis, who joined “the unanimous concern for the situation in Afghanistan. I ask you to pray with me to the God of peace so that the clamor of weapons ceases and solutions can be found at the dialogue table”.
