Taliban can’t be trusted: Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s granddaughter urges Modi, world leaders to help Afghanistan

Frontier Gandhi Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s granddaughter Yasmin Nigar Khan, who is the president of Pakhtoon Jirga-e-Hind, and lives in Kolkata, said that the Afghan leaders left the country but the common people are making sacrifices.

As mayhem in the aftermath of Afghanistan falling in the hands of Taliban continues to evoke shock across the world, ‘Frontier Gandhi’ Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s granddaughter Yasmin Nigar Khan said that the Islamist extremist group “cannot be trusted” because “they might say something now and do something else the next day.”

Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s granddaughter Yasmin Nigar Khan said that Taliban might say "something now" and do something "else the next day." (ANI Photo)

“We can just appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the rest of the world that the manner in which they cared for Syria, Palestine and other war-torn countries, they should look at Afghanistan too,” Yasmin told news agency ANI on Tuesday.

Yasmin, who is the president of the Pakhtoon Jirga-e-Hind, and lives in Kolkata, said that Afghans who live in the city are “worried about their families” back home. “The Taliban took over without a fight,” she added, describing the group’s clean sweep over the Afghan Army that was for nearly two decades trained and provided with equipment by the US.

Referring to the top leaders of Afghanistan escaping the chaos in the country, Yasmin further said, “The leaders left the country but the common people, the poor, the women, the children are making sacrifices. They should be looked after.”

Her remarks come in the backdrop of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and several of his close aides fleeing the country reportedly to take refuge in Tajikistan and other central Asian countries. Ghani, who has been called out for betraying his fellow country people, took to Facebook on Monday to defend his choice.

“The Taliban have won with the judgement of their swords and guns, and are now responsible for the honour, property and self-preservation of their countrymen,” the former President’s Facebook post read.

“If left unchecked, countless patriots would be martyred and the city of Kabul would be devastated, resulting in a major humanitarian catastrophe in the six-million-strong city,” Ghani wrote, adding that he left Afghanistan to prevent a “flood of bloodshed.”

Meanwhile, the Taliban on Tuesday declared an “amnesty” across Afghanistan and urged women to join its government – in what can be deemed as an attempt to help civilians calm themselves as the latter continue to look for ways to leave their homeland.

The statements by Enamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban's cultural commission, mark one of the first by the extremist group since they gained control over the country and captured the presidential palace as well on Sunday. Although they have projected a relatively moderate view this time around – shying away from the ultraconservative Islamic rule they had imposed the last time, Afghans still dwell in sheer fear and anxiety.

“The Islamic Emirate doesn't want women to be victims” Samangani said, adding that they should be in the government structure “according to Shariah law.” Samangani, however, said that the Taliban government’s structure is “not fully clear,” but based on “experience, there should be a fully Islamic leadership” and all sides should join.

Meanwhile, India withdrew nearly 200 Indian officials and security personnel, including the Indian ambassador to Afghanistan Rudrendra Tandon, in two batches of C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft on Monday and Tuesday – with the planes being operated in secrecy, following the breakdown of the Ghani-led government in Afghanistan.

Speaking to reporters during the aircraft’s brief halt at Gujarat’s Jamnagar base before reaching Delhi, Tandon said, “We’re continuously monitoring the situation because there are still some Indian citizens who are there.”

He added that the national carrier Air India will continue to run its commercial services to Kabul “as long as the airport in Kabul functions.”

(With inputs from ANI)