A year after the fall of Kabul, Canadian veterans urge Ottawa not to abandon Afghans trying to flee

It's been one year since Kabul fell to the Taliban after American and allied troops — including Canadians — left the country.

Video footage showed Afghans streaming onto the tarmac at the Kabul airport, desperate to escape, as a U.S. air force plane took off. Some fell to their death trying to hold on.

"We watched that terrible situation unfold ... we saw that tremendous catastrophe that happened in Kabul," said Brian Macdonald.

A Canadian veteran who served in Afghanistan, Macdonald leads the non-profit Aman Lara, which is Pashto for "Sheltered Path." The collective of Canadian veterans and former interpreters has been working over the last year to bring refugees to safety in Canada.

"When we were unable to get them out a year ago, it was devastating. But since then we've come together, we've doubled down and been able to get 3,000 people out," he said.

But it's been a slow and dangerous process when those refugees need to go through the Taliban to get a passport.

"These people that have helped Canada now have to stand up and go to an office that's controlled by the Taliban and give their name and address and the dates of birth of their children," Macdonald said.

"It's a very dangerous thing to do."

There was hope this June, when Pakistan agreed to temporarily allow Afghan refugees approved to come to Canada across its border, without a passport or visa.

But Macdonald says they've hit roadblock bringing those refugees to Canada.

"We were hoping it would be thousands, and it ended up being dozens," he said.

"We're dealing with the Afghan-Pakistani border, and it's a very wild place. And so messages aren't always clearly communicated, but we believe the window may still be open."

A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said Canada has added more employees on the ground to process applications as quickly as possible, including in Pakistan.

The department did not say how many undocumented Afghans have successfully made it to Canada through the arrangement with Pakistan.