Af Prez Flees, Taliban In Kabul, Set To Declare Islamic Emirate

Airport Under Fire Amid Rush For Evacuations

- Omer Farooq Khan & Agencies

Kabul fell to the Taliban in a swift and seemingly bloodless takeover on Sunday as President Ashraf Ghani took flight to Tajikistan, leaving a small band of political representatives to complete the handover of Afghanistan’s final frontier to the advancing forces that had captured most of the country in a span of 10 days. The last act of the Taliban’s resurgence came nearly 20 years after the militant regime had been toppled by American troops in pursuit of al-Qaida to avenge the 9/11 attacks on the US.

Taliban fighters took over the presidential palace, from where the outfit was preparing to announce the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Later, two explosions were heard near the palace and the US embassy.

Throughout the day, people made a dash for the airport where evacuations were on till evening. Later, the US embassy said, “There are reports of the airport taking fire; so, we are instructing US citizens to shelter in place.” Within hours, all commercial flights were suspended from Kabul. Only military planes were allowed to operate.

Taliban overrun key Kabul jail, free thousands

Sporadic gunfire was heard in central Kabuleven as the rush of evacuation continued. Checkpoints were abandoned by government troops even as panic-stricken residents blocked the streets. By afternoon, the Taliban had taken over Kabul’s main Pul-e-Charkhi prison, freeing thousands of inmates, videos on social media showed.