An Afghan man who was evacuated to Japan after the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in August has said he would readily return home if the militant Islamist group changes course and respects the rights of women and ethnic minorities.
The 34-year-old man, who had worked at the now-closed Japanese Embassy in Kabul since 2008, told Kyodo News in a recent interview that the Afghan people want the Taliban to allow female students to go to school and provide opportunities to ethnic minorities such as Tajiks and Uzbeks.
"If the Taliban received the support from the local people of Afghanistan, I'm very sure they will receive support from the international community and from all over the world," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity as revealing his name could endanger his relatives in Afghanistan.
It was the first media interview with an Afghan who evacuated with Japanese government support, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
The man, who was employed in the embassy's finance and account section, decided to leave Afghanistan with his wife, son and three daughters after the Taliban took effective control of the country on Aug. 15 last year, fearing those who had worked with foreigners would be killed.
"Actually, it was a sudden plan because we didn't know what would happen in our country," he said looking back on his decision, which was made to "save our life."
The man and his family left the country for Doha and arrived in Japan on Oct. 8. He is among around 500 Afghans who have taken refuge in Japan since the Taliban returned to power, and there are still about 140 hoping to evacuate to Japan, according to the ministry.
The man said his relatives, including his mother and nine siblings, remain in the war-torn nation and he maintains contact with them by phone.
The man and his colleagues are continuing embassy operations by teleworking from Tokyo, hoping the situation in Afghanistan will improve.
The reopening of the embassy in Kabul would be a good time to consider returning home, he said, but the prospects remain unclear after Japan moved diplomatic operations to the Qatari capital Doha.
The Taliban was known for restricting women's education and employment when it controlled Afghanistan from 1996 until it was ousted by the United States in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Composed largely of Pashtuns, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group, the Taliban are not recognized by the international community as a legitimate government.
The man said he would return to Afghanistan if the Taliban "welcome us" working for the country, and he wants all people who have emigrated or evacuated to go back to support the country.
"Everybody is very keen to go back to their country," but the point is whether safety will be secured and the Taliban will change their ways, he said.
