Taliban will let Afghans leave country after Aug 31 deadline, says German envoy

The Deputy Director of the Taliban’s political office, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai on August 24, met with a German delegation led by its ambassador in Afghanistan, Markus Potzel. This was informed by a member of the Taliban’s political office, Suhail Shaheen, via Twitter on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the German envoy has also said that the terrorists have agreed to let Afghans “with legal documents” leave the war-torn country after August 31, the day on which the US is set to complete the withdrawal of their troops from Afghanistan.

Taliban’s spokesperson for English media, Shaheen also said that both sides exchanged views on the situation in Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport. He said that Abbas led the delegation for the Taliban and talked about the timely withdrawal of foreign troops from the airport in the Afghan capital.

Shaheen said,

“Sher M. Abbas Stanikzai, Deputy Director,  PO and his accompanying delegation met with Markus Potzel, German Ambassador to Afghanistan and his accompanying delegation in Doha, yesterday. Political issues and situation of the  Kabul Airport came under discussion.”

“The IEA delegation said foreign troops should withdraw by the deadline.  It will pave the way for resumption of civilian flights. People with legal documents can travel through commercials flights after 31 August. German delegation emphasized on continuation of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and added that suspended development projects will also be resumed after normalization of situation,” he added.

Potzel also confirmed the meeting and said that the “comprehensive discussion” focusing on the urgent need for a functioning airport in Kabul as a prerequisite for diplomatic & NGO presence in Afghanistan. He added,

“GER pledged to increase humanitarian aid for the AFG people through international organizations by €100million. Resumption of development cooperation will be dependent on conditions, as was the case with the AFG government in the past.”

Senior Taliban leader meets Chinese ambassador

Additionally, Abdul Salam Hanafi, the deputy head of the Taliban political office in Qatar, also met with the Chinese Ambassador in Afghanistan, Wang Yu, on August 24. As per ANI, Taliban spokesperson Mohammad Naeem said,

“They discussed the security of the Chinese embassy and diplomats, the current situation in Afghanistan, bilateral relations and China's humanitarian assistance.”

Contradictory to governments across the globe, China has not only chosen to keep its embassy in Kabul functional but has also not spoken about evacuating citizens even as the western leaders scramble efforts to ensure the safety of their citizens.

IMAGE: AP