Afghanistan Taliban Crisis LIVE: UK Warns Taliban Against Sealing Afghanistan Off From The World
Afghanistan Crisis LIVE, August 25, Tuesday: US President Joe Biden on Tuesday told Group of Seven (G7) leaders that the United States aimed at completing Afghan evacuation by August 31
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday spoke to his British counterpart Dominic Raab on the developments in Afghanistan in the backdrop of the Taliban seizing control of the country.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said attempts by the Taliban to shut down the country could trigger a "refugee crisis" once Western forces withdrew from Kabul airport on August 31, as migrants make their way to neighbouring countries.
Britain on Wednesday warned the Taliban against attempts to coercively seal off Afghanistan from the rest of the world and urged the militant group to keep its borders open.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said attempts by the Taliban to shut down the country could trigger a "refugee crisis" once Western forces withdrew from Kabul airport on August 31, as migrants make their way to neighbouring countries.
Britain's foreign minister says he can't give a precise timeline about the end of UK evacuation flights from Afghanistan, but the mission will be over by Aug. 31.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said it's clear that the troops will be withdrawn by the end of the month.
Dutch protesters were burning car tires in the central Netherlands where Afghans are being housed after being evacuated from Kabul. Police dog handlers broke up the demonstration though no arrests or fines were made.
Hundreds of Afghans have arrived in the Netherlands in recent days after being flown out of Kabul and are being housed in three military bases.
Afghanistan's seizure by the Taliban has raised grave fears of a return to past patterns of human rights violations, and stoked desperation among many Afghans, said Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
She added that in recent weeks, her office has received harrowing and credible reports of the impact on civilians of violations of international humanitarian law, as well as violations and abuses of human rights, by the parties to the conflict.
Russia is preparing to evacuate more than 500 people on four military planes from Afghanistan — its first airlift operation since evacuations from Kabul began. The Defense Ministry said Wednesday that it will airlift the nationals of Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine from Kabul reported Associated Press.
CEO of Airbnb announced on Tuesday, that the home-sharing app will be offering housing to 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan globally. This will be financed by the company itself, donations to the Airbnb nonprofit, NGOs, and donations from Chesky himself.
During a press conference on Tuesday, the Shia Ulema Council urged the Taliban to ensure that they will treat all faiths and ethnicities with equality and justice.
“The Shia people never support violence and war, they all support peace,” said Ayatollah Salehi, a Shia cleric who was quoted by TOLO News. The clerics also issued an 18 point declaration.
“The declaration clarifies the working framework of the Afghanistan Shia Ulema Council,” said Sayed Hussain Alimi Balkhi, another cleric who was also quoted by TOLO News.
Out of the 78 evacuees, 16 have tested positive for Covid-19.
Union Health Ministry's office memorandum which was issued on Monday said that people arriving from Afghanistan have to undergo a mandatory “minimum 14-day institutional quarantine” at the ITBP facility.
AFP news agency quoted an official saying, "World Bank 'deeply concerned,' pauses aid to Afghanistan."
The Union Health Ministry has announced that all the evacuees from Afghanistan will have to undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days at the ITBP camp in Chhawla in Najafgarh.
The G-7 countries are united on its stand on Taliban and they agreed that the legitimacy of any future government in Afghanistan depends on the armed group's approach to prevent the war-torn nation from being used as a "base for terrorism , US President Joe Biden has said.
Biden's remarks on Tuesday came hours after a virtual meeting with the leaders of the G-7 bloc, the UN, NATO and the European Union. G-7 is an inter-governmental political forum of seven advanced nations comprising the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK.
The G-7 leaders and the leaders of the EU, NATO and the UN, all agreed that we will stand united in our approach to the Taliban," Biden told reporters at the White House.
"We agreed that the legitimacy of any future government (in Afghanistan) depends on the approach it (Taliban) now takes to uphold international obligations, including to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a base for terrorism, he said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday that Canada is to keep its military personnel in Afghanistan despite US President Joe Biden's commitment for August 31 American military deadline in the country.
"Our commitment to Afghanistan doesn't end when this current phase, this current deadline comes. We will continue to put pressure on the Taliban to allow people to leave the country," Trudeau said.
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday told Group of Seven (G7) leaders that the United States aimed at completing Afghan evacuation by August 31, while asking for contingency plans to adjust the timeline if necessary.
Biden attended a virtual G7 summit over Afghanistan earlier in the day, during which "he confirmed we are currently on pace to finish by August 31st," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.
"He also made clear that with each day of operations on the ground, we have added risk to our troops with increasing threats from ISIS-K," she said, referring to the local affiliate of the Islamic State.
"And that completion of the mission by August 31st depends on continued coordination with the Taliban, including continued access for evacuees to the airport."
"In addition, the President has asked the Pentagon and the State Department for contingency plans to adjust the timeline should that become necessary," she added.
Background
Afghanistan Crisis LIVE, August 25, Tuesday: US President Joe Biden on Tuesday told Group of Seven (G7) leaders that the United States aimed at completing Afghan evacuation by August 31, while asking for contingency plans to adjust the timeline if necessary. Biden attended a virtual G7 summit over Afghanistan earlier in the day, during which "he confirmed we are currently on pace to finish by August 31st," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.
"G7 leaders, EU, NATO, United Nations have agreed to stand united in our approach to the Taliban. We'll judge them (Taliban) by their actions & we’ll stay in close coordination on any steps that we take moving forward in response to Taliban behavior," President Joe Biden said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid made it clear that the US should withdraw all troops and contractors from the country before the deadline and no extension for the ongoing evacuation process would be possible.
Former US President Donald Trump has slammed his successor Joe Biden on his Afghan policy and expressed concerns that thousands of terrorists might have been flown out of Afghanistan as part of the evacuation process.
Biden surrendered Afghanistan to terrorists and left thousands of Americans for dead by pulling out the military before our citizens, Trump said in a statement on Tuesday. "Now we are learning that out of the 26,000 people who have been evacuated, only 4,000 are Americans. You can be sure, the Taliban, who are now in complete control, didn't allow the best and brightest to board these evacuation flights," he added.
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