Aust afghans 'terrified' for families

Emily WoodsAAP Members of Australia's Afghan community are "terrified" for family stuck in the Taliban-controlled country and are calling for the federal government to hurry

in bringing their loved ones to safety. The Taliban seized Kabul on Monday with scores of Afghans seen running alongside a military plane at the city's airport, desperate to flee

Afghanistan. Victorian Afghan Association Network President Asif, from the Ghazni Province in east Afghanistan, said his parents and siblings are "terrified by the chaos that's

unfolding". "Everyone is scared, they see the Taliban on the road, in the street and at the checkpoints. The shops are closed. Everyone is just trying to escape from the Taliban

regime," Asif told AAP. He called on the federal government to speed up visa processes to help bring the families to Australia. "I know that thousands of Afghan people, they have

lodged their family's application for a partner, or brother or sister or other family members, and they have been waiting for years," he said. He said there were also Australian

residents stuck in Afghanistan who needed to be brought home urgently. Abdullah Naveed's family live west of Kabul, in Dasht-e-Barchi, which is now under complete Taliban control. His

wife's family have been unable to sleep for days, with no light and no internet. "Their lives are terrible at the moment because they are scared, they can't move, even the

shops are closed," he told AAP. Mr Naveed, a community development officer at the Ethnic Council of Shepparton, says there are thousands of Afghans living in the regional Victorian

town. "After the Taliban took over, I have seen many people in front of my home, in the office, and I have received many calls, just asking if there is any news," he said. "I

would ask (Prime Minister) Scott Morrison to grant visas for those people who are very vulnerable and as soon as possible to evacuate them. "At least, we request that the government of

Australia evacuate our family." Some in his community have not seen their families in Afghanistan for more than 10 years, as they are on bridging visas and cannot go home. Immigration

Minister Alex Hawke on Tuesday said Afghan people in Australia on temporary visas would be supported and none made to return while "the security situation there remains dire".

However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison refused to commit to offering paths to permanent residency or citizenship. Hakim Mokhlis is on a five-month bridging visa in Brisbane, after spending

more than seven years in detention on Manus Island. "I just have to wait, there's nothing I can do," he told AAP. He said he would rather go back to Afghanistan than stay in

Australia, due to his unstable visa status and lack of work or accommodation. "If they can't do anything for me here, then send me back to my country," he said.

"We're suffering, there's no work, no housing, we are not getting Centrelink or anything. I was homeless in my country, and I'm homeless here too, I need something

permanent." Australia will send about 250 defence force personnel to evacuate Australians and Afghans who worked alongside the ADF during the decades-long war. GET THE LATEST NEWS FROM

THEWEST.COM.AU IN YOUR INBOX. Sign up for our emails