Man hiding from Taliban in Afghanistan shares his story as his family in Minnesota hopes for the best

The deadline to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan is now less than a week away, Aug. 31, but the Pentagon says 10,000 people are still waiting at the Kabul airport to leave.

And thousands more Afghans, many who helped the U.S., have been outside the airport gates. They are desperate to get in, and many are losing hope.

Shafiullah Malik Zada talked with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS over the phone from Kabul and said he’s now hiding from the Taliban because he fought with U.S. troops as a member of the Afghan National Army.

Malik Zada’s brother-in-law, Daud Safi, lives in Bloomington and interpreted the phone conversation for KSTP during the Wednesday afternoon phone interview.

"I am hiding not in my house but in my friend’s house right now and I move from one house to another," Malik Zada said. "I wear a disguise as I try to get to the airport each day, but the Taliban has blocked off the way there when I have tried."

Safi said the Taliban beat Malik Zada’s son when they went to his house and couldn’t find him.

"He has a broken nose and I think they also broke his arm," Safi said. "And if the Taliban has been to my brother-in-law’s house looking for him, that means he is in a dangerous situation, and I think they will kill him if they find him hiding somewhere because he was with the Afghan military."

Malik Zada told KSTP he had a message he wanted to get out to the American people.

"My message to all the people in the U.S. is to please pay attention to us because our lives are in danger and the Taliban is horrible and they don’t change," Malik Zada said.

Safi said his family has been in touch with the office of U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., and there are efforts started to try and find a way to get his brother-in-law out of Afghanistan, if possible.

A spokesperson for Phillips issued the following statement to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS:

"We can’t comment on the status of the Safi Family’s case at this time, but I can provide a snapshot of the work Rollie and our team have been doing to expedite evacuations of American citizens, Afghan SIV cases, and their families over the past week:

"Since Rep. Phillips first posted that our office would do everything in our power to help to expedite evacuations, our team of caseworkers (five extraordinary young civil servants who have really risen to this occasion) have referred more than 1650 names to the State Department. They’re currently working on more than 60 cases involving more than 450 individuals.

"I can’t stress enough what amazing – and challenging – work they’re doing; triaging calls from all over the world (including many from Afghanistan itself), vetting paperwork and documents, liaising complicated information to and from the State Department, and providing comfort to a lot of desperate families. Every infant’s passport is another punch in the gut. It’s heartbreaking, complicated work – and they’re doing a staggering amount of it. Thanks for shining a light on it."