Afghans rush to flee Taliban as hopes emerge for more time
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghans on Thursday hurried to escape Taliban rule, but Western officials said the group had made assurances that some evacuations would be permitted after next week's US withdrawal deadline.
Over 80,000 people have been evacuated since August 14, but huge crowds remain outside Kabul airport hoping to flee the threat of reprisals and repression in Taliban-led Afghanistan.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the Taliban had made commitments to allow departure of Americans, "at-risk" Afghans and people from other nations even following Tuesday's cutoff.
"They have a responsibility to hold to that commitment and provide safe passage for anyone who wishes to leave the country," Blinken told reporters.
He added that at least 4,500 American citizens of the 6,000 who said they wanted to leave Afghanistan have already departed.
Blinken spoke hours after Germany's envoy to Kabul said a Taliban negotiator had assured him Afghans bearing the right documents could leave after the deadline, which was confirmed Tuesday by US President Joe Biden.
Washington and its allies have been flying out thousands of Afghans every day on hulking military transports, but it has become an increasingly difficult and desperate task.
Pleas for help
Many Afghans fear a repeat of the brutal five-year Taliban regime that was toppled in 2001, as well as violent retribution for working with foreign militaries, Western missions and the previous US-backed government.
There are particular concerns for women, who were largely banned from education and employment and could only leave the house with a male chaperone during the group's 1996-2001 rule.
The Afghan capital's airport has been gripped by chaos as US-led troops try to maintain a secure perimeter for evacuation flights, surrounded by desperate Afghans.
Some have foreign passports, visas or eligibility to travel, but most do not. At least eight people have died in the chaos.
"Does anyone... ANYONE... have a contact inside the airport," pleaded one American on a WhatsApp group set up to share information on how people can access the airport.
"My guy worked for us 2010-15 and needs to get out with 5 of his family. This is real bad."
The Taliban have also been accused of blocking or slowing access for many trying to reach the airport, although they have denied that charge.
Biden said the Taliban were taking steps to assist, but there was also an "acute and growing risk" of an attack by the regional chapter of the Islamic State jihadist group.
Despite the harrowing scenes at Kabul airport, the Taliban have ruled out any extension to next Tuesday's deadline to pull out foreign troops, describing it as "a red line".
"They have planes, they have the airport, they should get their citizens and contractors out of here," said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
Turkey, which had more than 500 non-combat troops stationed in Afghanistan, said Wednesday it had started pulling out its forces.
The withdrawal signalled an apparent abandonment of the plans it had been negotiating to help secure Kabul's strategic airport after the American departure.
Belgium said Wednesday it was ending evacuations from Kabul after its military planes withdrew around 1,100 people -- including Europeans and Afghans -- in recent days.
'Won't be enough time'
European nations have warned they will not be able to airlift all at-risk Afghans before August 31.
"Even if (the evacuation) goes on... a few days longer, it will not be enough," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told Bild TV.
A hard withdrawal deadline presents a further complication that may reduce the number of daily evacuations.
But Germany's envoy to Kabul said a Taliban negotiator had assured him Afghans who have the right documents will still be allowed to leave after the deadline.
The United States deployed fresh troops for evacuations.
That 6,000-plus contingent, as well as hundreds of US officials, 600 Afghan troops and the equipment, will have to be flown out.
To do that by August 31, the Pentagon said operations would have to start winding down days in advance.
Following their lightning victory that stunned the world, the Taliban have so far been content to allow the US-led operation to continue, focusing instead on consolidating control and forming a government.
They have vowed a different, more inclusive regime this time around, offering amnesty to opponents.
An aid worker in Khost, a deeply conservative region in the southeast that fell to the Taliban shortly before they seized Kabul, told AFP the attitude of the former insurgents has so far been "much softer" than people expected.
"But the people are afraid of a bad economic situation," he added.
Many Afghans, however, remain fearful and sceptical.
The Taliban spokesman on Tuesday urged skilled Afghans to not flee, saying the country needed "expert" Afghans such as doctors and engineers. — with Chris Lefkow in Washington
Get the latest news as Taliban gains control of Afghanistan. Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera/AFP
Afghanistan's supreme leader said Sunday the country's women were being saved from "traditional oppressions" by the adoption of Islamic governance and their status as "free and dignified human beings" restored.
In a statement marking this week's Eid al-Adha holiday, Hibatullah Akhundzada -- who rarely appears in public and rules by decree from the Taliban's birthplace in Kandahar -- said steps had been taken to provide women with a "comfortable and prosperous life according to Islamic Sharia".
The United Nations expressed "deep concern" last week that women were being deprived of their rights under Afghanistan's Taliban government and warned of systematic gender apartheid.
Since returning to power in August 2021, Taliban authorities have stopped girls and women from attending high school or university, banned them from parks, gyms and public baths, and ordered them to cover up when leaving home.
They have also barred them from working for the UN or NGOs, while most female government employees have been dismissed from their jobs or are being paid to stay at home.
However, Akhundzada said "necessary steps have been taken for the betterment of women as half of the society".
"All institutions have been obliged to help women in securing marriage, inheritance and other rights," his statement read. — AFP
UN chief Antonio Guterres will gather international envoys at a secret location in Doha on Monday in an increasingly desperate bid to find ways to influence Afghanistan's Taliban rulers. — AFP
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution Thursday calling on Taliban authorities to "swiftly reverse" all restrictive measures against women, condemning in particular its ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations.
The resolution, unanimously adopted by all 15 Council members, said the ban announced in early April "undermines human rights and humanitarian principles."
More broadly, the Council called on the Taliban government to "swiftly reverse the policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms."
It cited access to education, employment, freedom of movement, and "women's full, equal and meaningful participation in public life."
The Council also urged "all States and organizations to use their influence" to "promote an urgent reversal of these policies and practices." — AFP
G7 foreign ministers on Tuesday demanded the "immediate reversal" of a ban on women in Afghanistan working for non-governmental organisations and the United Nations.
"We call for the immediate reversal of unacceptable decisions restricting human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the latest bans prohibiting Afghan women from working for NGOs and the UN," the top diplomats said in a statement after two days of talks in Japan.
The group also slammed the Taliban authorities' "systematic abuses of human rights of women and girls and discrimination against the members of religious and ethnic minorities".
Taliban authorities triggered international outrage this month after extending a December ban on Afghan women working for non-governmental organisations to include the UN.
They have rejected criticism over the move, saying it is an internal issue that should be "respected by all sides." — AFP
The United Nations is being forced to make an "appalling choice" over whether to continue operations in Afghanistan while the Taliban government bans women from working for the organisation, the world body says.
Under their austere interpretation of Islam, Taliban authorities have imposed a slew of restrictions on Afghan women since seizing power in 2021, including banning them from higher education and many government jobs.
In December, they banned Afghan women from working for domestic and foreign non-governmental organisations, and on April 4 extended that to UN offices across the country.
In a statement Tuesday, the UN mission in Afghanistan said the ban was "unlawful under international law, including the UN Charter, and for that reason the United Nations cannot comply".
"Through this ban, the Taliban de facto authorities seek to force the United Nations into having to make an appalling choice between staying and delivering in support of the Afghan people and standing by the norms and principles we are duty-bound to uphold," it said. — AFP
- Latest
- Trending
