President Ghani, National Security Adviser Hamdullah Muhib, and the head of President Fazel Mahmood Fazli's administrative office, all fled the country after the Taliban claimed a nationwide military victory. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's political chief and its most public face said the Taliban’s real test was only just beginning and that they had to serve the nation.
The Afghan government collapsed on August 15 with Taliban surrounded Kabul from almost all fronts, later seizing control of the presidential palace.
"With the judgement of their swords and guns, the Taliban have triumphed, and they are now responsible for the honour, property, and self-preservation of their citizens," Ghani
said in his first remark since escaping.
Who is Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar?
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is the co-founder, commander and political chief of the Taliban.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was born and raised in Kandahar, the Taliban's birthplace. Baradar's life, like that of other Afghans, was forever changed by the Soviet invasion of the nation in the late 1970s, which turned him into an insurgent.
He was said to have battled alongside Mullah Omar, the one-eyed cleric. In the early 1990s, amid the turmoil and corruption of the civil war that ensued after the Soviet withdrawal,
the two created the Taliban movement.
Following the Taliban's defeat in 2001, Baradar is thought to have been one of a small group of insurgents who approached interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai with a letter proposing
a possible arrangement in which the militants would recognise the new government.
Baradar was arrested in Pakistan in 2010 and held in captivity until he was released and relocated to Qatar in 2018 as a result of US pressure.
He was appointed chief of the Taliban's political office and oversaw the signing of the US withdrawal agreement.
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“Military commander and deft political operator”
During the Taliban's 20-year exile, Baradar had earned a reputation as a strong military commander and deft political operator. He was seen by Western diplomats as the most resistant
to ISI control and the most open to political connections with Kabul.
In February 2020, Baradar signed the Doha Agreement with the United States. According to the deal, the US and Taliban agreed not to fight each other, and power-sharing talks between
the Taliban and the Kabul government were to follow. On that front, though, there was little progress.
Situation in Afghanistan
Thousands of Afghans, including government ministers and employees, as well as civilians, including many women and children, had rushed to the terminal, anxious for flights out.
At least five were killed as hundreds of people tried to forcibly enter planes leaving Kabul with the Taliban taking the control of entire Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, several reports also claim that the Taliban open fired at women for not wearing a hijab at Kabul airport. The US troops fired back at the militants as the incident took place.
Western ambassadors have been evacuated from Kabul, according to US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price. India too is trying its heads-off to evacuate stranded Indians from the chaotic
nation as soon as possible.
However, as per the latest development in the Afghanistan crisis, the scheduled Air India flight to Kabul would not be able to fly because the airspace over Afghanistan has been declared
closed.
On Sunday, an Air India plane, Flight AI244 evacuated 129 stranded Indians in Kabul. According to a source, around 200 Indians in Kabul, including Foreign Ministry staff, have yet to
be evacuated.
Latest Update: As per the latest reports, Taliban leader, Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada has been made the new president of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.