Hundreds of Afghans flocked to the passport office in Kabul on Wednesday, just a day after news that it would re-open this week to issue the documents, while Taliban security men had to beat back some in the crowd in efforts to maintain order.
Taliban officials have said the service will resume from Saturday, after being suspended since their takeover and the fall of the previous government in August, which stranded many of those desperate to flee the country."I have come to get a passport but, as you can see here, there are lots of problems, the system is not working," one applicant, Mahir Rasooli, told Reuters outside the office.
The crowd pressed against a large concrete barrier, trying to hand documents to an official who stood atop it, in a scene reminiscent of the chaos at Kabul airport in the last stages of evacuation after the withdrawal of U.S. troops."I am here to receive a passport, but unfortunately I couldn't," said a man in the crowd, Ahmad Shakib Sidiqi. "I don't know what we should do in this condition.
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