According to a senior U.S. official, President Joe Biden has also committed himself to the deadline. However, European leaders have pressed for more time. Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, stated that the Group of Seven countries will not recognize any Taliban government unless it guarantees people the right to leave the country at their own risk. This was both before and after August’s deadline.
These announcements came just days after the CIA director met in Kabul with a top Taliban leader. This extraordinary meeting was a reflection of the gravity and need for America to coordinate with Taliban leaders as it struggles to end its two-decade-long war against them.
Recent days have seen a flurry of efforts to speed the evacuation at Kabul’s airport, where scenes of desperation have highlighted both the disarray of the U.S. pullout and fears that the Taliban will resort to the brutal tactics they used when they last ruled Afghanistan.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson, said at a news conference that the U.S. must adhere to its own deadline for withdrawing all troops and that “after that we won’t allow Afghans to be taken out” by flying evacuation flights.
He said that the Taliban would prevent Afghans from accessing the roads leading to the airport and allow foreigners to enter the area to stop large crowds of people from gathering outside. It wasn’t immediately clear whether they would block Afghans being evacuated by Western countries or escorted there by foreigners.
At the moment, all air traffic into and out of Kabul Airport is coordinated by the U.S. military. This Kabul airport is where American and NATO troops assist people in boarding evacuation planes. Since Aug. 16, when the capital was captured by the Taliban, there have been no commercial flights.
Mujahid stated that the Taliban would take over security at the airport following the planned U.S. withdrawal. It is not clear when commercial flights will resume. This puts pressure on current evacuation efforts to evacuate as many people as possible.
The White House reported that approximately 21,600 people were evacuated in the 24 hour period ending early Tuesday. This is a sign of an increase in airlift as it accelerates.
A U.S. official reported that William Burns, CIA Director, and Mullah Abdul Ghani baradar, Taliban leader, met. This was an exceptional moment for the U.S. Agency, which has for over two decades been targeting the Taliban in paramilitary operations. It wasn’t clear what they discussed.
Baradar was arrested by the CIA in Pakistan in 2010. He spent eight years in a Pakistani jail before being released by the Trump administration in 2018. This happened ahead of U.S. peace negotiations with the Taliban.
The Washington Post reported Burns’ meeting in person with Baradar. An American official confirmed the report under condition of anonymity, as the official wasn’t authorized to speak publicly. Mujahid claimed he wasn’t aware of such a meeting, but did not deny it.
Mujahid, however, refuted the notion that Afghans must flee. He claimed that the Taliban had brought security and peace to Afghanistan. He claimed that the main problem was chaos at the airport and accused the U.S. with luring away engineers and doctors, on whom the country depends.
Michelle Bachelet, U.N. human right chief, stated earlier that she had credible reports about “summary executions”, of former security forces and civilians who were not fighting, the recruitment and training of child soldiers, and restrictions on women’s rights to travel and school attendance.
She didn’t specify the source or timing of her reports.
It was difficult to determine the extent of abuses and whether they are contradictory to Taliban public statements or reflect disunity within its ranks.
However, the reports have fueled a rush to flee the country fearing that the Taliban will return to power. Between 1996 and 2001, the Taliban held women in their homes, banned music and television, and executed suspected thieves.
Bachelet stated that the Afghan people look to the Human Rights Council for protection and defense of their rights at this crucial moment. I urge the council to take bold, determined action in response to the gravity of the crisis by creating a dedicated mechanism that will closely monitor the changing human rights situation for Afghanistan.
Bachelet used the term “mechanism” to refer to the possibility of the council appointing a commission, special rapporteur, or fact-finding mission.
European leaders hoped that the U.S. would reconsider delaying its withdrawal in order to allow for more evacuations because of concerns over abuses. According to the Taliban, Aug. 31 is a “redline” and any presence beyond that would “provoke an reaction.”
Heiko Maas, the German Foreign Minister, stated that the majority of Afghan staff working for his country have not yet left. He called Tuesday’s meeting “very crucial” to discuss international access to Kabul Airport beyond August. Separately, Britain’s defense minister called the deadline a “mistake.”
After a G-7 meeting, Johnson of Britain acknowledged defeat and changed Biden’s mind.
He said, “We will continue right up to the last minute that we can.” “But you have heard what the President of the United States had to say, and you have heard what the Taliban has said.”
An official claimed that Biden decided to keep the deadline after consulting with his national security staff. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss a decision that was not publicly disclosed.
The world has been stunned by the tragic scenes at the airport. Afghans poured onto the tarmac last week and some clung to a U.S. military transport plane as it took off, later plunging to their deaths. Seven people were killed that day and seven more died in panicked stampedes on Sunday. A gunfight resulted in the death of an Afghan soldier.
