At least 15 Bangladeshis had to wait outside the Kabul airport for 16 hours as the Afghan authorities did not clear them to leave the country, media reports said on Thursday.
More than 150 Afghan students of the Asian University of Women in Chittagong were also denied clearance, reports Bangla Tribune.
Telecoms engineer Rajib bin Islam, who is among the 15 Bangladeshis, said they have been waiting for 16 hours outside the Kabul airport.
"We were told from the inside that we are not allowed to get in. We tried yesterday (Wednesday) too, but we were not given clearance,” he told the online newspaper early on Thursday before adding that they were heading to the airport as the authorities have allowed them to leave.
According to Islam, the 15 people include five people from the company he worked for, three from Brac and six working in other companies.
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The Bangla Tribune report said at least 27 other Bangladeshis are stranded in Afghanistan as the Taliban strengthened their grip on the landlocked country.
The foreign ministry is trying its best to bring them back safely, it quoted Bangladesh Ambassador to Uzbekistan Md Jahangir Alam.
Dhaka does not have a mission in Kabul and the country’s interests are maintained through the embassy in Uzbekistan.
Bangladesh has said it is closely watching the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan, which it believes may have an impact on the region and beyond.
A massive airlift of foreign nationals and their families as well as some Afghans has been underway at the Kabul airport since August 15, when the Taliban captured the Afghan capital.
