this video was made possible by curiosity stream watch an exclusive companion video to this by signing up for the nebula bundle deal at URL_TOKEN wendover on august NUMBER_TOKENth NUMBER_TOKEN taliban fighters encircled kabul over the hours days and weeks prior they had swept across the nation toppling provincial capital after provincial capital now their grand prize their return to rule after NUMBER_TOKEN years of war with the west was within sight as police put on street clothes retailers raised the price of burqas and workers painted over pictures of women hamid karzai international airport maintained an eerie impression of normalcy it was certainly busy with civilians fleeing on commercial flights governments evacuating their diplomatic staff and airlines relocating their aircraft to more stable nations but the way cabell's airport operated that morning was broadly the way it operated any morning at NUMBER_TOKEN NUMBER_TOKEN am a pakistan international airlines triple NUMBER_TOKEN landed from islamabad at NUMBER_TOKEN NUMBER_TOKEN a qatar airways triple NUMBER_TOKEN NUMBER_TOKEN er touched down on a charter flight from doha shortly after at NUMBER_TOKEN NUMBER_TOKEN a cam air aNUMBER_TOKEN left on its daily run to delhi in spite of the foreboding feeling in the air the airport fulfilled its regular role for the bustling middle eastern metropolis but then came the news shortly after noon the taliban spoke person zabahula mujahid issued a statement their forces had encircled kabul and they intended to enter still the planes kept coming having allocated each one of their seats to those lucky enough to find an available ticket as an air india aNUMBER_TOKEN approached however atc stopped responding with panic setting in on the ground controllers had abandoned their posts so in the air the aNUMBER_TOKEN entered a holding pattern until its pilots determined a course of action twelve thousand feet above an emirates triple seven did the same until it diverted back to dubai but one hour later finally the air india aircraft successfully landed in the hours that followed without any atc clearance the pakistan international airlines triple NUMBER_TOKEN qatar airways triple NUMBER_TOKEN air india aNUMBER_TOKEN and a pakistan international airlines aNUMBER_TOKEN each departed for their destinations but the most significant departure was not one of the afternoon's planes but a passenger aboard it at NUMBER_TOKEN NUMBER_TOKEN pm tolo news one of afghanistan's largest broadcasters reported that president ashraf ghani had fled the country the islamic republic of afghanistan was no longer the taliban were in control soon after its forces entered kabul at NUMBER_TOKEN NUMBER_TOKEN pm a km air NUMBER_TOKEN left on the afghan airlines regular evening run to islamabad representing kabul's last regularly scheduled commercial flight for days weeks or maybe more meanwhile the taliban took control of the ark afghanistan's presidential palace and the first photos emerged displaying the finality of the situation reactions around kabul were mixed some celebrated the jihadist group does have some public support so kabul streets were roamed by men enjoying what was in their minds a victorious night others including nearly all women hidden their homes worried for potential violence and for the future of their country then there were those who feared for their lives journalists activists former government officials along with interpreters security guards and others who had worked with american nato and nato allied forces the desperation was undoubtedly
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