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Ex-Adviser in Afghan Government Says 'Horrible Scenes at Kabul Airport to Haunt Me Forever'

© REUTERS / West Asia News AgencyTaliban soldiers stand in front of a sign at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, September 9, 2021
Taliban soldiers stand in front of a sign at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, September 9, 2021 - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.10.2021
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Ekaterina Chukaeva - As the Taliban* were seizing Kabul, Sabur Shah Dawod Zai, ex-adviser to the Afghan government, found himself in the middle of desperate and shouting crowds at the Kabul airport, attempting to flee and said that these scenes of desperation and the sense of doom of those around him will haunt him forever.
Before the collapse of the Afghan government led by Ashraf Ghani in mid-August, Dawod Zai served as an adviser with the deputy minister of interior affairs in Afghanistan. He was also a supervisor at the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan. Dawod Zai who is from the Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan recalled that the country was developing very well.
"We have a good education system good security system but there were some problems with different countries like Pakistan, Iran, China, and so on," he said.
15 August, when the Taliban seized power, became one of the darkest days for Dawod Zai. After the group took control of Kabul, the civilian Afghan government collapsed and a number of high-ranking politicians, including Ghani, left the country. In September, the Taliban announced an all-male interim government, headed by Mohammad Hasan Akhund, who served as the foreign minister during the previous Taliban rule and has been under UN sanctions since 2001.
Afghan evacuees queue before boarding one of the last Italy's military aircraft C130J during evacuation at Kabul's airport, Afghanistan, August 27, 2021 - Sputnik International, 1920, 30.08.2021
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"I was in Capital Kabul [on 15 August], it was a very bad day in my life because 20 years of achievement, 20 years of experience was finished on the same day," he admitted.
Dawod Zai was shocked and refused to accept the news until he saw the Taliban fighters with his own eyes.
© REUTERS / HANDOUTMembers of the UK Armed Forces who continue to take part in the evacuation of entitled personnel from Kabul airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan August 19-22, 2021
Members of the UK Armed Forces who continue to take part in the evacuation of entitled personnel from Kabul airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan August 19-22, 2021 - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.10.2021
Members of the UK Armed Forces who continue to take part in the evacuation of entitled personnel from Kabul airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan August 19-22, 2021
"I was crying and suddenly called my father that our president left country and Taliban's are in power and he said: 'be safe and try to come to the house as soon as possible!'" he recalled.
A week later, he decided to flee the Afghan capital to avoid persecution from the Islamist movement. Dawod Zai recalled that he was leaving with a heavy heart.
"I didn't want to but sometimes circumstances leave you with no options. throughout my career, I have worked with honesty and integrity and I never imagined that I will leave Kabul like this," he said.
However, what he saw at Kabul airport was horrifying — thousands of people, including women and children, were trying to get out of the capital. Dawod Zai spent two days near the airport in the hope to flee.
© REUTERS / SPAIN MINISTRY OF DEFENSEAfghan collaborators, their families, Spanish soldiers and members of the embassy board a Spanish military plane as part of their evacuation, at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 27, 2021
Afghan collaborators, their families, Spanish soldiers and members of the embassy board a Spanish military plane as part of their evacuation, at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 27, 2021 - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.10.2021
Afghan collaborators, their families, Spanish soldiers and members of the embassy board a Spanish military plane as part of their evacuation, at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 27, 2021
"Forty-eight hours, with no food and no sleep, only one or two hours of sleep, but in the queue, we had only a few bottles of water and some biscuits," he recalled.
After that, when he entered the airport, he tried to find the Polish army which agreed to help him with evacuating himself and his wife.
"[Next] morning I came with the Polish army to the front gate of airport to identify my wife in the crowd, then they brought my wife inside the airport and we were there for around 5 hours after that we got to the Polish army aircraft," he recalled.
They fled Kabul to Uzbekistan and then boarded a commercial flight to the Polish capital of Warsaw. He is now living in Warsaw with his wife.
The US-led NATO troops were withdrawn by August 31, ending the nearly 20-year foreign military presence in the Central Asian country. Several days later, the Taliban announced the composition of its interim government.
Dawod Zai recalls that a few people managed to flee the country.
"There were more than a thousand of people but only 10-20 percent of people who had passports like the US, British, Canada, and European Union were be able to flee the country," he said.
Yet, Dawod Zai is not planning to live in Poland forever and hopes to come back to Afghanistan one day and to begin his service to his people and his country again.
"But the horrible and dreadful scenes and desperation of people at Kabul airport will haunt me forever. People didn't deserve to see this. A lot to say and it is time that unveils the truth," he concluded."
*A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.
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