The UK government says it’s “sceptical” of promises made by the Taliban that it’ll allow safe passage of eligible people out of the country Troops have arrived back within the UK after evacuations ended, but the govt says it’ll still help people eligible for resettlement Foreign Office minister James Cleverly told BBC Breakfast the united kingdom was “willing to engage” with the Taliban.
But he said he couldn’t give “absolute assurances” to those left behind “If [the Taliban] start acting sort of a government, if they begin facilitating both internal travel and exiting from Afghanistan, then we’ll engage with them thereon basis,” he said But in fact what we aren’t ready to do, what no country is ever really ready to do, is give an absolute cast-iron guarantee A series of diplomatic meetings are going to be held in the week with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab set to start out that process by holding talks with Turkish and Qatari officials.
The talks come as survivors of a US drone strike that had been targeting a terrorist told the BBC the attack ended up killing 10 members of 1 family, including six children While quite 15,000 people are evacuated by the united kingdom since 14 August, many people that are entitled to return to the country are left behind It is feared that about 800 to 1,100 eligible Afghans, including those that worked for the united kingdom government, and 100 to 150 British were unable to urge on evacuation flights The BBC’s Lyse Doucet, in Kabul, said she and her colleagues were still receiving urgent SOS messages from Afghans who feel threatened by the Taliban – including musicians, university students and feminine politicians.
Mr Cleverly added it had been “impossible” to urge a selected number of individuals who had been left behind, after Labour suggested it might be around 5,00 Asked what those people should do, Mr Cleverly said: “As soon as we are ready to give clear advice… we’ll circulate that Afzali has been trying to urge through to her MP and therefore the ministry to assist relations she is worried about in Afghanistan, but says she is “not getting anywhere”.
“I’ve been emailing whoever we will email – any contact details that we’ve been getting. we’d like help,” she told the BBC My family is in peril at the instant . a day i buy a call from them, i do not know what to inform them next. i do not know what subsequent solution is Mr Cleverly was asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme a few former interpreter for British embassy who said he had been barred from the airport by the Taliban, and responded: “I can assure you, and that i can assure him, that we’ll not pack up to urge people like him out of the country.”
He said any UN or diplomatic presence would require troops on the bottom , which might be “very, very hard to achieve”, which support for people trying to go away Afghanistan would “rely, of course, on neighbouring countries” – although no agreements are reached Asked about reports that Mr Raab didn’t speak to his counterpart in Pakistan until 22 August, every week after the Taliban took control of Kabul, Mr Cleverly said the minister liable for the UK’s relationship with Pakistan “speaks to them very regularly”.
Labour’s shadow foreign affairs minister, Stephen Kinnock, said the govt had been “asleep at the wheel” when it came to getting people out of Afghanistan We need to now face the truth , unpalatable because it is, that some cooperation goes be required. What meaning is cooperation with conditions,” he said media captionThe final flights bringing British troops arrive within the UK The ministry says the united kingdom and lots of other countries had been given assurances by the Taliban that foreign nationals and Afghan citizens with proper documentation are going to be allowed to go away the country Even if the Taliban is faithful its word there’s still uncertainty for those that are ready to get to its borders as processing centres have yet to be found out in neighbouring countries.
During a series of meetings to be held with other nations, British officials will attempt to rally the international community to form sure the Taliban keeps its promises Mr Raab will use a US-chaired virtual meeting to speak to representatives from Turkey and Qatar, who are considered to possess more influence over the militant group than Western nations During the discussions, which can also include G7 counterparts and Nato, the foreign secretary is predicted to underline that Afghanistan must not become a haven for terrorists, with stability within the region a priority, and can underline the necessity to carry the Taliban to account over human rights promises.
A meeting of the ambassadors from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the US, France, China, Russia and therefore the UK – also will happen On Sunday, Boris Johnson said the united kingdom and its allies would “engage with the Taliban not on the idea of what they assert but what they do If the new regime in Kabul wants diplomatic recognition, or to unlock the billions that are currently frozen, they’re going to need to ensure safe passage for those that wish to go away the country, to respect the rights of girls and girls, to stop Afghanistan from, again, becoming an incubator for global terror, because that might be disastrous for Afghanistan,” he said.