A British medical student says Taliban fighters told him ‘we would shoot you dead if we weren’t under pressure from the international community’ while he tried to get into Kabul airport.

The 25-year-old, who asked not to be named, said they were indiscriminately whipping people, including children, in an attempt to control the crowds desperately trying to flee the new regime in Afghanistan.

The threat will be seen by some as a chilling warning of the fate that could await those who have helped the British troops if they cannot get on evacuation flights, the student suggested.

Born in Afghanistan, he moved to the UK in 2010 and was granted citizenship in 2015, and is now going into the third year of his medical studies.

‘The Taliban were just firing aimlessly in the air’, he explained, amid growing fears that time is running out for evacuations.  

‘There were gunshots to scare people off, they were treating everyone like a herd of sheep, not as humans.

‘Because they couldn’t manage the crowd, they would whip women, the elderly, the children, whoever was in their way.

‘I think the Taliban hasn’t changed, they are the same.’

One fighter also made the comment about shooting him because of his passport, had it not been for international pressure.

He had been travelling to his home country to get married – and had intended to sponsor his wife to join him only once he had completed his studies, got a job and home of his own.

Instead, the couple found themselves fleeing the Taliban and finally escaped on their fourth attempt at getting into Kabul airport after an eight-hour wait at a Taliban checkpoint.

They are now isolating in a south London hotel but are unsure what the future holds since they cannot afford accommodation.

But the situation is more desperate inside Kabul airport, where the student said families had already faced intimidation and threats from the Taliban because of their links to the British.

‘The interpreters and security forces who had worked alongside the British soldiers, they told me “Now the Taliban are looking for us, they have knocked on our doors, they have asked our relatives where we are”,’ he explained.

‘Thankfully the British did their job, and kept the promises they had made to save their lives.’

He praised British soldiers in the base who helped him take a flight to Dubai, then Greece, and then Birmingham – after another 24 hour wait in Kabul.

But the student fears for those with links to the British once the last flight has left and is convinced they will return to the brutal regime they previously ran.

‘I have 0% confidence in the Taliban to show even 1% mercy to anyone who supported the Afghan government that was financially supported by the US, by Britain and by Nato.’

Meanwhile, a retired British Army officer who served in Afghanistan said the situation around the airport could become ‘extremely dangerous’ for Nato forces without the US present.

Brigadier Ed Butler told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme: ‘If the Americans were to leave on August 31, and if the Taliban hold true to what they are saying now about not providing that security, then it goes from being a relatively permissive environment to one which would be non-permissive and extremely dangerous.

‘There would be threats to aircraft from ground-to-air missiles, or machine guns, and also there is a danger of the airport being overrun by the Taliban.’

Elsewhere President Joe Biden held crisis talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ahead of tomorrow’s G7 meeting.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: ‘The leaders agreed to continue working together to ensure those who are eligible to leave are able to, including after the initial phase of the evacuation has ended.’

There have been tensions between the two nations over the American approach – amid calls in Britain for the USA to delay its final departure from Afghanistan.

In a statement, the White House added: ‘They discussed the ongoing efforts by our diplomatic and military personnel to evacuate their citizens, local staff, and other vulnerable Afghans.

‘They also discussed plans for the G7 virtual leaders’ meeting tomorrow, underscoring the importance of close coordination with allies and partners in managing the current situation and forging a common approach to Afghanistan policy.’

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