News
Last minute cancellation of flight may have saved lives of Lankans
- Kabul airport explosion
- 33 Sri Lankans still in Afghanistan; more join Foreign Ministry’s list of evacuees, while 21 working for UNHRC opt to stay back , says SL envoy to Afghanistan
A group of Sri Lankans narrowly missed the explosions this week at the Afghan airport.
“I bought my employees their tickets since the situation was getting dire and we had no choice but we are still waiting to be evacuated,” said Anuruddha Saputhanthre, whom the Sunday Times interviewed last week. Anuruddha and three of his employees were set to catch an evacuation flight on Wednesday. But was cancelled at the last minute.
Wounded women arrive at a hospital for treatment after two blasts, which killed more than 100 people, outside the airport in Kabul on August 26, 2021. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)
“We may have lost our lives if we stayed because the bombs went off two hours after we had left the airport,” he said. On their way out, Taliban fighters had checked each person’s mobile phone and deleted recordings of events that were unfolding, with strict warnings to those who had dared to take pictures and record videos.
Meanwhile, the situation continues to be mired in confusion as Afghanistan enters its third week since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban. Responding to speculation about Afghanistan’s continued presence in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Afghan Ambassador to Sri Lanka M. Ashraf Haidari said his country will remain in respective international organizations and meet the obligations cast by international conventions and treaties that it was party to.
Talks were still underway for the formation of an inclusive representative Government between the people of Afghanistan and the Taliban. According to the Ambassador, some talks were led by Former President Hamid Karzai and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation. “The satisfaction of the international community, and how the Taliban plans on meeting the demands of the Afghan community will be deciding factors in this transitionary period,” he said. “It is now a matter of waiting and watching since one can only guess how soon the talks will conclude.”
The Ambassador said that, given the volatility of the situation, there was still “no guarantee” with regards to the preservation of Buddhist artifacts in the Kabul National Museum and the protection of other sites of Buddhist historical importance.
Meanwhile, 33 Sri Lankans are still in Afghanistan and more people have joined the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry’s list of people that want to be evacuated. “Twenty-one Sri Lankans that work for the United Nations Human Rights Council have expressed their desire to stay,” said Admiral (Rtd) Piyal Harischandra, Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Afghanistan. Five Sri Lankans were members of Ecolog International whose evacuation was being organised for them by their agency. Three others, including one woman, were awaiting repatriation following the termination of their contracts with United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Four others had purchased their tickets and were awaiting repatriation that was being organised by the Indian High Commission of Pakistan.
Two explosions near the Kabul Airport’s Abbey Gate, within a few minutes of each other, claimed the lives of 110 people and injured over 100 others. Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), an affiliate of militants who previously battled US forces in Syria and Iraq and are now anti-taliban, claimed responsibility. The attack was reportedly aimed at Afghans trying to leave the country and the US troops.
Rajindra Rohitha who also spoke to the Sunday Times from within Afghanistan last week was evacuated on August 22 with the UN evacuation envoy contingent to Kazakhstan. “In my office, all foreigners have left Kabul,” he said. He was due to arrive in Colombo on August 27.