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Jamil Danish had intended to return to his home in Kabul after graduating with a masters degree in the UK in 2019 - but his return was delayed by the coronavirus lockdown.

Now he's watching in shock - and making many urgent calls to his brothers and sisters back home - as the Taliban take control of Afghanistan again. It's all brought back memories of his life under their first regime between 1996-2001, when he was imprisoned three times and given lashes by the Taliban for the crimes of cutting his beard too short, having a video tape, and questioning a Mullah in a way deemed disrespectful.

He says his greatest concern is for his younger sister:

"My sister is a newly graduated student with high hopes to go and find a job. I was telling her stories about what happened under the Taliban and (saying) she was so lucky not to have experienced those years. She had time to study, she had time to prepare for a better future. She is 23 years old and I couldn't explain to her what would happen for her future."

(Photo: Two women wearing the Burqa in Kabul in 1996, the year the Taliban captured the city and took control. Credit: Getty Images)

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