Afghan Baby Lost During Airlift In Kabul Reunites With Family After 4 Months Of Separation

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According to an exclusive report by Reuters, father Mirza Ali Ahmadi handed baby Sohail Ahmadi to a uniform soldier — who he believed to be American — standing on top of a wall during the tumultuous Afghan evacuation on 19 August.

At that time, Mirza Ali gave the two-month-old to the soldier out of desperation as he and his wife, Suraya, feared that their baby would be crushed during the turmoil.

They were stranded about five metres away from the entrance of the airport. Mirza Ali believed that he would get past the crowd and reclaim his child behind the wall.

However, the Taliban militant pushed the crowd back, causing Mirza Ali, his wife, and four other children to be stranded for half an hour.

When they finally got into the airport, baby Sohail was nowhere to be found.

Mirza Ali — who worked as a security guard at the US embassy in Afghanistan — searched desperately for his son but he was told that the baby was most likely taken out of the country separately and he could be reunited with his son later.

The family was then evacuated and spent their days in a military base in Texas, US, before being relocated to an apartment in Michigan.

For months, they had no idea where their son was.

Footage of two-month-old Sohail being handed to a soldier was one of many shocking videos and images that went viral following the Taliban's takeover after the US decided to pull its troops out of the country.

Sohail was picked up by 29-year-old taxi driver Hamid Safi, who said he found Sohail alone and crying on the ground.

He tried to look around to find Sohail's parents, but to no avail.

Following that, Hamid took Sohail home to his wife and children, where he raised the baby as his own.

Hamid's children are all daughters, and his grandmother's dying wish was for him to have a son.

"I am keeping this baby. If his family is found, I will give him to them. If not, I will raise him myself," he told Reuters in an interview in late November last year.

He also took photos of Sohail and posted them on Facebook. His neighbour recognised the baby from the photos and commented online to reveal Sohail's whereabouts.

When Mirza Ali learnt where his son was located, he asked for his father-in-law Mohammad Qasem Razawi to travel from the northeastern province of Badakhshan to Kabul to request Hamid to return Sohail back.

Reuters reported that Hamid initially refused to return Sohail and tried to demand a way for him and his family to be evacuated from Afghanistan.

With no other choice, Mohammad Qasem sought help from the local Taliban police and alleged that Hamid kidnapped his grandson.

However, Hamid denied the allegation and told the police that he was caring for the baby, not kidnapping.

The police dismissed the case following Mohammad Qasem's complaint, but a local police commander told Reuters that he had helped arrange a settlement.

In the settlement signed with thumbprints by both sides, Sohail's family agreed to compensate Hamid AFN100,000 (about RM4,000) for expenses incurred looking after him for five months.

Sohail was returned to his grandfather on 8 January, and Hamid can be seen in tears in a video when Sohail was taken from his embrace.

BBC reported that the family now hopes arrangements will be made to bring Sohail to where they are in Michigan.