Many gasps and sighs were heard around the world as the news of Taliban’s takeover of Kabul broke on television and social media. Though the US-Taliban talks had resulted in an agreement under which US was to withdraw its troops, many did not anticipate seeing thousands of Afghans flocking to the airport in hopes of finding refuge in other countries. Since then, gruesome images have emerged from Afghanistan attesting to the helplessness many Afghans feel today. One of the videos shows the disturbing scene of an American aircraft taking off while people inundate the runway. Some of the desperate people hold on to the aircraft to escape their country somehow. A few seconds into the video, two people fall from the airplane as it ascends into the sky. Images of people passing their infant children to American soldiers standing over the barbed wires depict the poignancy of Afghan affairs. What exactly is happening to those seeking to escape?

Despite recent statements promising to allow women some freedoms “within the ambit of Islamic principles” the prospect of Taliban rule has raised anxieties among Afghan women who fear a return to the times when they were denied education, right to work and independent mobility.

The oppression of women between 1996 and 2001 has left a mark on the collective memory. That is why many are seeking to escape while they can. On August 24, the Aghan women’s national soccer team was evacuated out of Kabul. Formed in 2007 to reclaim the space denied them by the Taliban, the athletes were advised to deactivate their social media accounts to escape attention.

Many well educated citizens of Afghanistan do not wish to be subject to what they see as draconian laws they think the Taliban will reintroduce. Hameed Shuja, the BBC Pashto editor, has compiled a Twitter thread on who among the Afghans is leaving the country. He wrote, “a majority of those risking everything to leave are the nation’s brightest. They are the country’s academic brain, the state’s core human resource; doctors, engineers, teachers, IT experts, lawyers, prosecutors, journalists, diplomats.” He lamented, “They won’t return any time soon. Afghanistan is facing an intellectual drought with its top cadre desperate to leave.”

Many of these people have appealed to the international community to be evacuated from Afghanistan and some have received assurances. A lingering question is: what will happen to those who lack the resources to escape and will be left behind. So far 3.5 million people have been displaced within Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover. It is unclear whether most of them will remain in or around Kabul or attempt to cross over into neighboring countries. Several thousand are reported to have penetrated into Pakistan and 1,500 have sought refuge in Uzbekistan. Given that key service providers are in the process of leaving the country, an acute shortage of healthcare workers and educators is imminent.

Some UN organisations and mostly Afghan aid workers have promised to stay and help people to the best of their ability. Will the Taliban allow them or will they ban foreign organisations?

Pakistan and Iran have so far taken the largest number of Afghan refugees. According to the UNHCR, in 2020, 1.5 million Afghan refugees escaped into Pakistan while Iran hosted 780,000 refugees. Other countries that have welcomed refugees over time, albeit in smaller numbers, have been Germany, Turkey, Austria, France, Greece, Sweden, Switzerland, India, Italy, UK, Australia, Belgium and Indonesia. In view of the recent developments, the international community has been pressing Afghanistan’s neighbors, especially Pakistan to allow more refugees to cross its borders. Prime Minister Imran Khan recently said that Pakistan will not allow more refugees to enter its borders and that those who have entered would be restricted to designated camps so that they do not make their way into the cities.

Many countries have said they will allow some Afghans refuge within their borders. The US is willing to accept any Afghan that has worked with the US government. The UK has agreed to accept 20,000 Afghans, prioritising women, children and those escaping persecution. Australia has made room for 3,000. Tajikistan is willing to take in 100,000 Afghans. Canada has accepted 20,000 Afghans. Germany has agreed to accept 10,000 at-risk Afghans. India has only conditionally accepted Sikh and Hindu refugees. Iran is setting up camps near its border with Afghanistan to host refugees. The countries that have refused to accept any refugees in the current wave are France, Russia, Australia and Turkey.

Since August 14, the United States has helped evacuate 80,000 people. The number of Afghan citizens among those is not immediately clear. The UK has facilitated 10,000 people out of which 6,000 are Afghans. Germany has aided 4,500 people out of Kabul including 3,700 Afghan citizens. Many of those evacuated via Kabul airport have been human rights activists and journalists. President Biden has reiterated that the US will continue to facilitate evacuations till August 31. It now seems that following the stampedes and shootings at the Kabul airport, the Taliban are preventing some citizens from approaching the airport to be evacuated.

Zabiullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, has said: “We are not allowing the evacuation of Afghans any longer. We are not happy with it.” Given the large number of people camping at the airport to flee to other countries, a bid by the Taliban to force people to return to their homes is possible.

Ironically, the optimism of the likes of Prime Minister Imran Khan who see a victory against colonialism is not shared by those trying to flee Afghanistan. The momentum is marked with a loss of hope in the current generation of Afghans winning back their country in a democratic process. The refugees apparently see this as a choice between their rights to life and livelihoods and living under an autocratic rule by those who imposed draconian laws two decades ago.

The writer is an investigative journalist pursuing her MA in English literature at Columbia University as a Fulbright scholar. She is an advocate for child welfare in Pakistan. She can be reached on Twitter @_safiamahmood