Kathmandu, Sept. 4 -- Ever since the most recent Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, they had been fleeing Kandahar andKabul to Kathmanduin the hope of third-country asylum.

They have been waiting in limbo for years, and have been watching the shocking images from Kabul airport of their compatriots trying to escape the Taliban. This has dashed their hopes of ever returning to their homeland, but raised the prospect of a speedier asylum process.

Humayun Shahzad, another Afghan refugee living in Kathmandu, has not been able to sleep ever since the Taliban began theirrapid advance across Afghanistan last monththat led to the collapse of the Afghan government.

"I have been watching what is happening in Afghanistan, and thinking about our frie...