PLEASE get me and my family out of here, a former interpreter to Allied forces pleaded from the Afghan capital, Kabul.
“If I stay here they (the Taliban) will cut off my head,” he told a worldwide audience on BBC radio early this morning.
Thousands of Afghans and foreigners are fleeing Kabul, with helicopters seen ferrying people out of the US embassy and US and British troops being sent to secure the airport as the Taliban seizes control.
As the rapid takeover of Kabul unfolded, Pope Francis expressed his concern after leading the recitation of the Angelus on Sunday’s Solemnity of the Assumption.
He asked everyone to unite in praying to “the God of peace so that the clamour of weapons might cease and solutions can be found at the table of dialogue.”
He said only this way can the “battered population of that country – men, women, elderly and children” be able to “return to their own homes, and live in peace and security, in total mutual respect”.
Many Afghans fear the Taliban will return to past harsh practices in their imposition of sharia, or Islamic religious law.
Women in particular were subject to stoning, whipping and hanging if they breached laws such as working when the Taliban last ruled from 1996-2001.
Despite that terrible history, Taliban leaders have sought to project a more moderate face, promising to respect women’s rights and protect both foreigners and Afghans.
“We assure the people, particularly in the city of Kabul, that their properties, their lives are safe,” Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told the BBC, saying a transfer of power was expected in days.
President Ashraf Ghani has already fled the country and television footage shows Taliban fighters inside Kabul’s presidential palace.
In a Facebook post Mr Ghani said he believed “countless patriots would be martyred” and the city of Kabul would be “destroyed” if he had stayed behind.
“Taliban have won the judgement of sword and guns and now they are responsible for protecting the countrymen’s honour, wealth and self-esteem. They didn’t win the legitimacy of hearts.”
Yesterday it was revealed Australian military aircraft were expected to arrive in Kabul as early as this week to begin the evacuation – but that was before the Taliban’s rapid takeover.
The hastily convened “air bridge” aims to extract foreign service officers and Afghan interpreters and contractors who served alongside Australian Defence Force troops.
Australians working for Afghan and international charities and non-government organisations would also be offered evacuation, as well as journalists and some dual citizens.
