Kabir Khan recalls a spine chilling incident of interviewing Taliban members in 2001 – Times of India

Kabir Khan has expressed deep concern for the crisis that Afghanistan is going through with Taliban taking over the country. Speaking to a news portal, the filmmaker recalled a spine chilling incident from his interaction with the Taliban. He stated that they were interviewing some of the Taliban members in 2001 post the 9/11 incident and at that point, one senior Taliban member looked straight into his camera and claimed that they will be back. Kabir Khan added that the confidence of the man at that time sent chills down his spine and that the incident haunts him every time he remembers it.

Kabir Khan also revealed that his friends have been sending SOS calls, but he is not able to help them. He stated that his friend and actor Bashir has been forced to run away from his house and go underground as his home was ransacked by the Taliban.

Interestingly, Kabir Khan began his journey behind the camera by making documentaries in Afghanistan, and his debut film ‘Kabul Express’ was also based in and around the country. Expressing his concern for women in Afghanistan, the filmmaker had previously told ETimes, “The women must be particularly scared because during the Taliban regime from 1996 to 2001 they had targeted women. They had stopped them from working, this was the country which was always at war and there were widows who were not allowed to leave home or work. They had become beggars but they were not even allowed to beg. They would be beaten up if they came out on the streets, girls were stopped from getting education. It was almost like a lab for oppression of women. They were not allowed to leave home unless accompanied by a father, brother or husband. There are women I know who suffered from skin diseases because for five they never had sun on their skin.”