Afghanistan is a dangerous place for many of its citizens after the Taliban takeover of the country.
Some Afghans are at high risk because of their association with Australia either through their work with Australian troops, NGOs, study in Australian universities or dealings with Australian businesses.
Australia has a moral obligation to save lives by taking-in refugees and granting permanent protection to impacted Afghans who are already in Australia.
The huge media focus placed on the plight of Afghan interpreters who served with Australian troops worked - the Australian government eventually announced it was sending an evacuation mission to Kabul.
While this news came late, it was welcome and a great achievement.
Mohib Iqbal worked for the Afghan government on local governance as part of a World Bank project until May 2021. Source: Supplied
I am holding my breath until these people are evacuated from Kabul to safety.
However, I also think it is crucial that Australia extends it protection obligations to people beyond those who worked with the Australian military, many of whom will be only at risk because of their association with Australia.
The latter group include NGO workers, businesses, those who studied in Australia, and those who worked to build cultural or commercial relationships between Australia and Afghanistan.
I worked for the Afghan government on local governance as part of a World Bank project until May 2021.
Mohib Iqbal outside the Afghan presidential palace before it fell to the Taliban. Source: Supplied
I worked with Australian citizens and people with deep ties to Australia.
I am currently in contact with many of these people - and I am scrambling to find resources such as contacts, websites where they can apply for evacuation, and the forms they need to fill out, as well as reaching out to community members for help and support.
A Taliban fighter sits on the back of vehicle with a PK machine gun in front of the main gate leading to the Afghan presidential palace in Kabul Source: AP
And I believe all those people whose lives are at risk due their associations with Australia deserve to be evacuated.
Afghanistan is currently going through a human tragedy, the true extent of which cannot be put into words.
Thousands of people are at risk both immediately and in the long run. To trust their lives to the Taliban will be a mistake considering the human rights record of the group.
The extent and scale of the events that transpired in Afghanistan were unexpected.
The US intelligence assessments suggested the Afghan government would hold until the peace negotiations underway in Doha produced results.
Even as districts and cities in large swaths of the country started falling to the Taliban, these assessments suggested there were 30 to 90 days until Kabul collapsed. There was only a week.
Taliban fighters take control of the Afghan presidential palace after the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. Source: AP
Why the Afghan army did not put up a fight will be debated in months and years to come.
It did not help that the US withdrawal deprived Afghan soldiers of critical support, undermining the crumbling morale of soldiers.
It is critical that Australia does not send anyone back to Afghanistan, and grants permanent protection visas to all those who are either currently living inside Australia, or stuck in offshore detention centres.
I am lucky I left Kabul for a brief visit to Sydney in May this year.
is a development expert with extensive work experience in Afghanistan. He is currently advising on the World Bank development programs in the country.
