“The surrender started from the cities, not from our checkposts in the mountains. We were strong, we had enough men and weapons, and ready to defend the country. We would have continued the fight until members were all killed, but [my boss] told me that the whole country is surrendering. And when your commander tells you to step down, there is nothing you can do.”“They never won Afghanistan. They only have it because we gave it to them,” he says.
That night the Taliban came to his base and the commander handed over everything to them, as instructed. “I handed over the keys of my car and left the base on foot with just my scarf. It was a heartbreaking moment, we all were crying, I couldn’t sleep for the nights after and started taking sleeping medication. Even dying would be better than this, I guess.”While they wept, and as Taliban fighters moved into Afghanistan's capital city, the nation's leader, President Ashraf Ghani, left the country along with other high-ranking government officials. Members of the Taliban were soon pictured inside the presidential palace hours later as they prepared to announce a Taliban government.He leans forward, wincing. “That was it…. a surrender.” He throws his hands up. “And that's when all our lives changed forever. That’s when Afghanistan changed forever.”
Many of those who were not killed in the last days of fighting have fled the country, or are seeking ways to leave, he says, estimating that at least a dozen of his men have gone to Pakistan or Iran.“More than 1,400 militia soldiers and staff were left behind,” he claims, adding that the estimate is from two districts alone. “It’s hard to keep hope when so much time has passed.” Present dayThere are no reliable numbers of how many Afghan security forces were killed in the final weeks of fighting, but some have said it is in the thousands, with many more missing.Today, those left behind fear being caught up in unlawful targeted killings of people whom the Taliban perceives as adversaries.The commander wonders why he has been forgotten.“We had an alliance and friendship with the Americans. They would call on us to join in operations because we knew the area. The American special forces trained us. At one time, we shared a base with them and they paid our salaries. They trusted us and we had a responsibility to protect those areas from Taliban or Daesh for the Americans. Now, it’s the Americans' responsibility to evacuate us.”In the aftermath of the loss, none of his soldiers were evacuated, he says.
“I was promised by the Americans to be evacuated from Afghanistan, but after the collapse, they didn’t answer me.”
He smiles as he flips through photographs of himself draped in the Afghan flag, in sunglasses, with an RPG casually slung over his shoulder, his truck and his men behind him.He has lost his country, his job, his purpose, and his pride, he says.“That feels like a long time ago now.”“It is easy for America to move on from Afghanistan because they are gone. But thousands of us did not just disappear as the Taliban took our places. We are still here, still alive and still breathing and unable to move on,” says the commander.