White House Praises Taliban As Dozens Of Foreigners Fly Out Of Kabul
By RFE/RL September 09, 2021
The White House called the Taliban's cooperation on the first international passenger flight out of the Afghan capital since a U.S.-led evacuation ended "a positive first step," as more than 100 passengers, including dozens of Americans, arrived in Qatar.
A live broadcast from Doha's airport showed families disembarking onto the tarmac after the Qatar Airways jet landed just before 8:00 p.m. local time on September 9.
The flight was said to have been carrying a large group of foreigners, including many Americans and British nationals. The White House said in a statement that the passengers included "U.S citizens and lawful permanent residents" and that the flight was "the result of careful and hard diplomacy and engagement."
It did not say how many aboard were Americans, although the White House said before the flight that there were roughly 100 U.S. citizens left in Afghanistan.
The State Department later said it had invited more than 30 Americans and U.S. legal permanent residents to be on the flight but that not all of them chose to fly.
"The Taliban have been cooperative in facilitating the departure of American citizens and lawful permanent residents," the White House statement said. "They have shown flexibility, and they have been businesslike and professional in our dealings with them in this effort. This is a positive first step."
"We will continue these efforts to facilitate the safe and orderly travel of American citizens, lawful permanent residents, and Afghans who worked for us and wish to leave Afghanistan," the statement said.
The State Department said it expected more such opportunities for people to leave Afghanistan via air or other means.
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani thanked the Taliban for helping get Kabul airport operational.
Qatari and Turkish teams are reportedly working to get the Kabul airport fully operational, although domestic flights resumed earlier this week.
After the landing in Doha, the British Foreign Office said 13 British nationals were among the passengers.
"We are grateful to our Qatari friends for facilitating a flight carrying 13 British nationals from Kabul to safety in Doha today," British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement.
"We expect the Taliban to keep to their commitment to allow safe passage for those who want to leave," Raab added.
Reuters quoted an official in Doha as saying that 200 non-Afghans would be flying out.
The official quoted by Reuters was unable to say if those leaving included people who had been stranded for days in the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif after private charters were stopped from departing by Taliban officials.
The Taliban has said it would let passengers with valid travel documents leave, but that many of those at the northern airport did not have such papers.
The United States and its allies evacuated more than 100,000 Americans, at-risk Afghans, and third-country nationals out of Afghanistan in the frenzied final weeks ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden's self-imposed August 31 deadline for a full military withdrawal.
Qatari special envoy Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani rejected the label of "evacuation" for the September 9 flight.
"Call it what you want, a charter or a commercial flight, everyone has tickets and boarding passes," al-Qahtani said, according to Al Jazeera. "Hopefully, life is becoming normal in Afghanistan."
Another flight would depart on September 10, he said, adding that around 200 passengers were expected to be aboard that plane.
Many outside governments and NGOs have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe and urged the quick resumption of flights to carry humanitarian supplies and other essentials to Afghanistan.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, Al Jazeera
Source: https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/taliban-stranded- americans-afghanistan/31451394.html
Copyright (c) 2021. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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