After the Taliban takeover and US withdrawal from Afghan lands, former officials, bureaucrats and ministers didn’t have much options other than to flee the country. After the Taliban took over Kabul several images appeared of people leaving Afghanistan in thousands through planes, cargo flights or even in private jets.
According to a UN report, over 100 former members of the previous Afghan government and its officials working with international troops and security forces were killed by Taliban. While many including President Ashraf Ghani quietly slipped out of the country, others fled as refugees to start life afresh outside the homeland.
News18 takes a look at some of the senior Afghan officials including ministers and bureaucrats and their lives in a foreign land.
Minister as Uber Driver
Khalid Payenda, who was the Finance Minister of Afghanistan before the Taliban took over, is now an Uber driver in Washington DC to support his family. Payenda reportedly earns over 150 dollars for six hours work, not counting his commute.
He had resigned as the Finance Minister of the country a week before the Taliban took control of Kabul last August due to straining relations with Prime Minister Ashraf Ghani. Payenda left Afghanistan due to his fear of being arrested and joined his family in the United States.
Communications Minister to Delivery Man
Sayed Sadaat used to be the Communications Minister in the Afghan government before moving to Germany in December, 2020 in the hope of a better future. He is now a delivery man in the eastern city of Leipzig.
He said he was criticised at home for taking such a job after having served in the government for two years, leaving office in 2018. But for him now, a job is a job. “I hope other politicians also follow the same path, working with the public rather than just hiding,” he said.
$20.9 million Villa for Defence Minister’s Son
Daoud Wardak, son of former Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, has bought a mansion worth $20.9 million in one of the most sought-after neighbourhoods in California. The house is located on the famous Trousdale Estates Street in Beverly Hills and is nearly 9,000 square foot and belonged to the Woodbridge Group, which is now a defunct Ponzi scheme.
Abdul Rahim Wardak served as the Afghan defense minister between 2004 and 2012 and was known to be a key planner in setting up the Afghan National Army (ANA).
Many in Hiding
Many senior former government officials have gone into hiding or exile after the Afghanistan fell to Taliban. Among those who are in hiding includes a former high-ranking national government official who wishes to remain anonymous. According to a report in National Public Radio, the official requested not to reveal his identity or location as he claimed that Taliban has assigned a hit squad to find him, following previous death threats.
A high ranking official, now living in exile, he said that he doesn’t make frequent phone calls to family or anyone to avoid detection. “I plan to hide myself, step by step,” they said. “I change my plan every day,” he told NPR.
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