Afghan military pilot relocates to US after Taliban takeover; concerned about family

After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August, many members of the Afghan military fled the country. Belal Khohestani, former Afghan pilot of Afghanistan's elite military unit, is one of them. He has now relocated to Chicago, the US where he has found a place to live. As per the reports of CNN, he stated that he is adjusting to life in a new country, admitting that everyone who would genuinely make America home for him, his wife and four children, his two sisters and his mother all are thousands of kilometres away, locked in his native Kabul. He said that he is starting from scratch to construct his life in the US.

In mid-August, Belal and other Special Mission Wing pilots flew across the border to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in a desperate attempt to prevent some of the Afghan military's most advanced weaponry from falling into Taliban hands and establishing their own air force. During the escape, several people departed the country without their families and they have been waiting to see their family since then.

Khohestani is concerned about retaliation against his family

Khohestani urged his family to meet him outside Kabul International Airport in late August as the US and its allies evacuated thousands of Afghans. However, the suicide explosion on August 26, which killed 13 US servicemen crushed Khohestani's hopes of his family escaping the country. He stated that he is ashamed that he abandoned his family, according to CNN. Despite the Taliban's assurances of amnesty, Khohestani is concerned about retaliation against his family.

There are still many people in Afghanistan who still want to flee the country. Last Monday, State Department press secretary Ned Price stated that the United States is continuing its endeavour to evacuate at-risk Afghans, as well as American residents and green card holders, according to CNN. He also stated that they have also continued to do everything they can to support Afghans to whom they have a specific obligation, including those who fall under the category of the Special Immigrant Visas.

Looking at alternatives

Price further said that they are looking at alternatives to processing for the larger cohort. He claims that while their presence on the ground in Afghanistan is no longer there, they are doing what they can from other posts and looking at solutions to continue their efforts to safely relocate those individuals who wish to leave the country.

Image: AP