Canada to open borders, 'resettle' 20,000 vulnerable Afghans as Taliban siege continues

Canada announced on Friday that it is expanding a programme to grant permission to resettle 20,000 Afghan refugees who are vulnerable due to the Taliban’s rampage across Afghanistan.

Canadian Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said that the 20,000 Afghans who are welcomed by Canada will be from groups of refugees who are being persecuted by the Taliban. "Canada will build on its earlier special immigration programme to welcome over 20,000 vulnerable Afghan refugees. Our efforts will focus on those who are particularly vulnerable, including women leaders," he said. Mendicino acknowledged that Afghanistan has been under a surge in violence. "Canada is expeditiously carrying out special resettlement operations to evacuate Afghan nationals who provided critical support to the Canadian mission. Many more Afghan lives are now under increasing threat and many have already fled," he said. 

The Taliban has been intense in its pursuit to take over the country and has been fighting the Afghan forces leading to large-scale violence. As the withdrawal of foreign security forces is almost complete, Afghan civilians are being targeted and persecuted by the Taliban. Presently, the Taliban is not just fighting the war against the military but are also looting civilians after taking control over multiple areas from the government. Due to the worsening situation in the country, civilians have been trying to leave Afghanistan to save their lives.

The latest developments in Afghanistan 

After the Biden administration signed a peace deal with the Taliban in February and announced their plan to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan, the Taliban escalated its offensive against Afghan forces. The Taliban took over six provincial capitals in the past day, taking the total number of provinces under Talibani control to 18. A local Afghan news agency, Khaama Press reported that the Taliban took over Kandahar, Helmand, Herat, Badghis, Ghor, Logar, Zabul, and Oruzgan in the last 24 hours.

(With inputs from ANI)