On Sunday morning, long lines formed outside banks and the few functioning ATMs in Kabul as residents, fearful that the capital may fall to the Taliban, too, rushed to withdraw their cash.
As the Taliban took control of the eastern city of Jalalabad on Sunday, the jittery Afghan capital Kabul is now isolated as the country’s only big urban area in government hands, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“The other provinces have already collapsed, so there is no reason to think it won’t happen here soon,” said Samsur, a student originally from Jalalabad, as he took his place in a line outside a Kabul mall that contained a working cash machine. He said he hoped to be able to withdraw his savings, a total of 5,000 afghanis, or $58 before the money ran out.
“Everyone is in panic,” added Aman, a money changer, as he waved a thick wad of the Afghan currency that he traded for dollars. “If the government is afraid, of course, the people are even more afraid.” The street exchange rate sharply dipped overnight but then recovered somewhat, he said.
People rushed to the Kabul airport, preparing to flee the country as the Taliban are advancing on the Afghan capital. The U.S Embassy has urged its citizens to leave the country while scaling back its presence.
The US has rushed 5,000 troops to secure the airport and help evacuate American diplomatic personnel as the Taliban closed in on the city.
Overnight, the near-constant buzz of helicopters hung over central Kabul as the Green Zone that contained much of the foreign presence emptied out. Many embassies have closed or relocated to the military base in the airport.
On Saturday, President Ashraf Ghani addressed the nation. Kabul had been swirling with rumors that he would step down to pave the way for a peace deal to spare the capital and its population of over 4 million people.