Taliban insurgents have entered Afghanistan’s capital metropolis of Kabul on Sunday and in keeping with numerous information companies, President Ashraf Ghani has left the town for Tajikistan, capping the militants’ lightning push for energy.
Amid panic and issues, numerous nations are concerned in hurried evacuations of their residents from Afghanistan.
India has put in place contingency plans to evacuate lots of of its officers and residents from Kabul, which has been gripped by concern and panic. Plans have already been finalised in case they require emergency evacuation, a PTI report mentioned.
An Air India flight from Delhi hovered over the Kabul airport for about an hour on Sunday ready for the air site visitors management permission earlier than it may lastly land with 40 passengers on board, whereas the corresponding return flight left the Afghanistan capital hours later with 129 passengers, the report mentioned quoting officers.
According to officers of Air India, there is no such thing as a plan but to cancel the Delhi-Kabul-Delhi flight and that it’s scheduled to function on Monday too. However, they mentioned, the airline is monitoring the state of affairs carefully and it’ll take acceptable motion as and when required. Currently, solely Air India is working flights between India and Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Britain’s international minister Dominic Raab on Sunday mentioned he was deeply involved about the way forward for Afghanistan and known as on the Taliban insurgents to finish violence as they entered the capital metropolis Kabul.
“Shared my deep concerns about the future for Afghanistan with FM Qureshi. Agreed it is critical that the international community is united in telling the Taliban that the violence must end and human rights must be protected,” Raab wrote on Twitter, referring to Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
Britain‘s ambassador to Afghanistan is to be airlifted in another country by Monday night amid fears that the Taliban may seize the airport imminently, information company AP reported. The Foreign Office had meant for Laurie Bristow and a small crew of officers to stay on the airport with different worldwide diplomats. But the Sunday Telegraph reported that their departure had been introduced ahead.
Pakistan has closed the Torkham border level with Afghanistan after the Taliban took management of the Afghan border facility, the inside minister mentioned Sunday. Sheikh Rashid Ahmed mentioned the choice to shut the Torkhan border was taken on account of on account of an “extraordinary situation” on the opposite aspect. Ahmed informed the native Geo tv that the border was closed when Afghan police surrendered to the Taliban. Ahmed mentioned the Chaman border level with Afghanistan stays open.
Pakistan evacuated 329 passengers from Kabul in a particular flight of Pakistan’s nationwide airline PIA. Another carrying 170 individuals will arrive Islamabad later at present. A spokesman for the airline mentioned Saturday that the airline will function three flights tomorrow to move Pakistanis and different nationalities seeking to go away Kabul. PIA and different business flights from Kabul have been closely delayed Sunday on account of a US navy transport airplane that blocked the runway, AP reported quoting the airline.
According to information company Reuters, Russia is able to cooperate with Afghanistan’s interim authorities, the Interfax information company reported on Sunday, citing a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Kabul. The spokesman for the embassy, which earlier mentioned there was no rapid have to evacuate the Afghan capital, additionally mentioned Russia was participating in political contacts in Afghanistan, in keeping with Interfax.
Meanwhile, RIA state information company quoted the Russian international ministry as saying that Moscow doesn’t but recognise the Taliban insurgents as Afghanistan’s new lawful authority. The ministry additionally informed RIA that Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani was unlikely to move to Russia after leaving his nation.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned that embassy employees in Kabul are leaving the ability and transferring to the airport. US diplomats have been being ferried by helicopters to the town’s airport, the place US troops are being flown in to offer safety amid an exodus of Americans and their native allies and different foreigners within the face of the militants’ lightening advance. Sources informed Reuters that almost all US employees can be evacuated from Kabul within the coming day or two.
The NATO, in the meantime, mentioned it was “helping to maintain operations at Kabul airport to keep Afghanistan connected with the world.” Low-cost service FlyDubai mentioned it will briefly droop flights to Kabul. It circled a flight to the capital Sunday, as did Emirates. Emirates mentioned an “unforeseen temporary closure of the runway” stopped it from touchdown, information company AP reported.
Canada has suspended diplomatic operations in Afghanistan and Canadian personnel are on their manner again to Canada. Foreign Minister Marc Garneau mentioned in an announcement the choice to droop operations is short-term and the embassy will reopen if the safety state of affairs permits employees to be protected. Some 40,000 Canadian troops have been deployed in Afghanistan over 13 years as a part of the NATO mission earlier than pulling out in 2014. More than 150 Canadian troopers died through the Afghanistan mission.
Turkey‘s president said his country will work for stability in Afghanistan along with Pakistan, in order to stem a growing migration wave amid the Taliban’s countrywide offensive. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan mentioned Afghans have been more and more trying emigrate to Turkey by way of Iran, urging a world effort to deliver stability to the nation and stop mass migration.
Spain‘s protection ministry mentioned it has not but begun evacuating Spanish nationals and Afghan employees, together with translators who’re anticipated to be flown out alongside its residents, however was dashing up its plans. In an emailed assertion, AP reported, it mentioned that “the evacuation plan for Afghanistan is being accelerated to the maximum,” including that “details are finalised on logistics and the people who will be evacuated” however they can not give extra particulars for safety causes.
Germany is sending navy transport planes to Kabul to start the evacuation of its embassy employees on Monday. The German information company dpa reported Sunday that the mission will embody the evacuation of native Afghan employees working for the German embassy. A German official, talking on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t authorised to be quoted, informed AP that paratroopers will safe the operation. Military planes are anticipated to ferry evacuees from Kabul to a base in Central Asia, from the place constitution planes will deliver them to Germany.
In case of Italy, most personnel on the Italian Embassy in Kabul are being transferred to the Kabul airport in preparation for evacuation. The transfer impacts some 50 Italian staffers and 30 Afghan workers and their households, together with Carabinieri paramilitary police defending the embassy. The Foreign Ministry confirmed that employees have been being transferred to the airport, as different nations have been within the strategy of doing, however couldn’t give numbers or timing. Italy’s protection minister has mentioned that 228 Afghans and their households have already been transferred to Italy, calling it a “moral duty” to guard those that had labored with Italy and who would face reprisals by the Taliban. The Italian company LaPresse reported a flight carrying Italian embassy employees would depart Kabul Sunday night.
Uzbekistan‘s Foreign Ministry reported that 84 Afghan servicemen crossed the border into Uzbekistan and requested for help. Uzbek guards detained the group of Afghan navy after they crossed the border. The group included three wounded troopers who wanted medical assist, the ministry mentioned. The males have been supplied meals and short-term lodging in Uzbekistan, and the ministry was in contact with Afghan officers concerning the return of the troopers to their dwelling nation.
Albania‘s prime minister says his nation will briefly shelter lots of of Afghans who labored with the Western peacekeeping navy forces and at the moment are threatened by the Taliban. On his Facebook web page, Edi Rama mentioned the US. authorities had requested Albania to function a “transit place for a certain number of Afghan political emigrants who have the United States as their final destination. No doubt we shall not say no,” he mentioned. He added that the Albanian authorities has additionally responded positively to requests from two US NGOs to shelter lots of of Afghan intellectuals and girls activists who’ve been threatened with execution by the Taliban.
Czech Republic leaders have permitted a plan to evacuate Afghan staffers on the Czech embassy in Kabul. The Czechs already had evacuated their very own diplomats from the embassy and transported them to Kabul’s worldwide airport. Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek mentioned Afghan staffers are prone to “death and torture” in the event that they keep, including, “We simply can’t allow that to happen.” The evacuation flights ought to happen in subsequent days.
Sweden‘s embassy personnel in Kabul will go away instantly and the evacuation is anticipated to be accomplished on Monday, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde mentioned on Sunday. “All deployed staff will be out by tomorrow. The Swedish Migration Agency is working to bring home the locally employed staff,” Linde informed a information convention.
(With inputs from AP, Reuters and PTI)
