Antony Blinken says Taliban committed to safe passage for Afghans, foreigners out of Kabul

Foreign nationals and Afghan citizens having travel authorization from a hundred countries, including the United States, will be able to "safely leave" Afghanistan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed. 

Blinken wrote in a tweet that the USA will "hold the Taliban to this commitment." He said, "Today, nearly 100 countries issued a joint statement on the assurances by the Taliban that all foreign nationals and any Afghan citizen with travel authorization from our countries will be allowed to safely travel outside Afghanistan. We will hold the Taliban to that commitment. (sic)"   

Taliban guarantees safety of foreign nationals

According to a statement by the US Department of State, the United States and nearly 100 other countries, in a joint statement on Afghanistan Evacuation Travel Assurances by the Taliban, said that all foreign nationals and Afghans with travel authorization from the said countries will be allowed to safely travel outside the war-ravaged nation.

The countries are all committed, according to a joint statement, to ensuring that "our citizens, nationals and residents, employees, Afghans who have worked with the countries, and others who are in danger can continue to travel freely to places outside of Afghanistan." The governments of these countries informed that they have obtained guarantees from the Taliban that all foreign nationals and Afghan citizens having travel authorization will be able to travel outside the country in a secure and orderly way.

The statement said, “We will continue issuing travel documentation to designated Afghans, and we have a clear expectation of and commitment from the Taliban that they can travel to our respective countries. We note the public statements of the Taliban confirming this understanding”.

US Special Immigration Programme

Since 14 August, the United States of America has evacuated or assisted in the evacuation of about 114,400 people. Approximately 120,000 people have been moved to the United States since the end of July. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said on Friday that the US will engage with the Taliban to facilitate the safe evacuation of individuals from Afghanistan after the 31 August withdrawal deadline.

According to Psaki, President Biden asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken to continue diplomatic efforts with international allies to arrange ways for third-country nationals and Afghans with visas to flee the country once the US military presence expires. The US has been taking in US citizens, lawful permanent residents, Afghan Special Immigrant Programme (SIV) applicants and other vulnerable Afghans, according to Pentagon.

The SIV can be obtained by certain Afghans who have helped the US military in any role, and are afraid of being attacked by the Taliban for doing so. As per reports, about 5,000 SIV applicants have already been evacuated by the US military forces from Afghanistan. An estimate of 65,000 SIV applicants and family members are still in the Taliban-occupied country. Afghans who come to the United States without appropriate immigration status may be granted “humanitarian parole,” which allows them to stay for a limited time. The Biden administration has not stated how many Afghans have been paroled into the United States, but advocates anticipate that many of those who arrive will be without visas and will require parole.

Operation Devi Shakti

Ever since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan on 15 August, thousands have been trying to flee the country. This resulted in massive gatherings in and outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. Taking advantage of the situation, the ISIS-K terror group, on Thursday, conducted a bombing attack outside the airport, resulting in the death of 95 Afghans and 13 Americans. As per reports,  President Joe Biden said that another terrorist attack at the airport in the coming days is “highly likely.”

In light of Afghanistan's deteriorating situation, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi informed that hundreds of people are being brought to India as part of Operation Devi Shakti. Since the fall of Afghanistan, India has been evacuating its citizens from the country regularly.

According to Ahmad Zhia Ghani, the head of the Afghan community in India, there are currently around 21,000 Afghan refugees in the country. According to reports, on Friday, Pakistan allegedly opened fire on Afghan refugees attempting to cross its borders. Three Afghan refugees were killed and numerous more were injured in the said shooting. Pakistan blocked its border on 15 August, just days before the Ashraf Ghani-led Afghanistan government fell and the Taliban seized power. Under normal circumstances, the border enabled the flow of over 6,000 individuals from both countries. Over 1.4 million Afghan refugees already reside in Pakistan.

(With inputs from ANI, Image: AP)