As thousands of Afghans are staring at a dark future, the Afghan refugees who have been living in India are mourning the loss of land to the Taliban.
The Taliban captured the capital city of Kabul on August 15 after the US troops began to pull out. Soon, millions of Afghans, including women and children, started risking their lives to leave the country.
With Afghanistan now in the hands of Taliban, the dreams of thousands of refugees in India to return to their homes, will take many years, or perhaps decades to fulfil.
Unable to get in touch with their families, Afghan refugees are worried amid the crisis back home.
Afghan nationals residing in various pockets of Delhi such as Lajpat Nagar, Jangpura, Bhogal with the status of 'refugee' expressed their concern for fellow Afghan nationals who are still living in Afghanistan.
"The situation is getting worse day by day. We're worried about our families who're staying in Afghanistan. May Allah keep us safe," says Ahmed, a shop owner in Lajpat Nagar.
Many others shared a similar concern. They said that they are unable to talk to their families due ot poor connectivity, especially in the interiors of Afghanistan.
Jawed, who runs a bread shop in Bhogal, said that he's been living in India for more than five years now, but his family is in Afghanistan. "What's happening in our motherland is extremely worrying. People are risking their lives to flee from the clutches of the Taliban. They are trying to come out and move to either Iran, Tajikistan or India just to save their lives. The pictures of people falling off the plane were extremely distressing. I had never seen anything like this before. It just shows how grim the situation is back there."
Speaking about his hopes of ever returning to Afghanistan, Jawed said that he lives in hope that one day he will be able to return to his motherland, but with the Taliban takeover, the dream will take many more years to fulfil.
Distressing pictures and videos have given sleepless nights to many who are worried about their family and friends, looking for a way out of the war-ravaged country.
"Those videos are scary and heart-wrenching. It shows how helpless people are back there. We can't stop thinking about our parents who are living in Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan," say Hameed Khan and his cousin, Sikander Naseem.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in 2019, there were around 40,000 refugees and asylum-seekers registered in India.
And, Afghans were the second-largest community, comprising 27 per cent of them.
Mohammad Qais, another refugee resident in the area who owns a grocery shop said that he has grown up seeing war and has hardly seen peace in 33 years. Qais's uncle who is still in Afghanistan finds it hard to even earn his livelihood.?
Haseeb Ullah Sediqi came to India four years ago. It's been three-four months since he spoke with his parents, sister back in Afghanistan.
"My family lives in the interiors of Afghanistan and there, the network connectivity has been cut off completely. I call others who are in Afghanistan to know about them but even they fail to reach them. I am searching every means to hear their voice just once," said Sediqi.
Afghans in Kolkata -- commonly known as Kabuliwalas (people of Kabul)- are worried too.
They have not been able to get in touch with their family members back home amid the crisis.
Kabuliwalas usually visit from one door to the other selling wares from their country, mostly dry fruits, rugs and perfume, or deal in the business of lending money.
Fifty-eight-year-old Omar Masood, a moneylender who has been living in the city for the past several decades, said that he hasn't been able to establish contact with his family and friends in Kunduz over the past two weeks.
"It was in July that I last spoke to my younger brother and family. Since May, I have been asking them to leave Afghanistan and move to either India or any other country... I am clueless about their whereabouts now," Masood said.
Taliban fighters, who were removed from power in Afghanistan by US-led forces in 2001, have resurfaced again, taking control of key cities, after the government there collapsed and embattled president Ashraf Ghani fled home, much like his fellow citizens.
Thousands of people have died and millions have been displaced in the conflict.