US facilitated evacuation of over 250 people from Afghanistan in last 3 days: US envoy

Days after the United States ended its military involvement in Afghanistan, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad on Saturday informed that more than 250 people including US citizens were safely evacuated from Kabul over the past three days, reported by Tolo News.

He further stated that the United States will continue its engagement with Qatar, the Taliban and others to ensure the safe passage for stranded people who still wish to leave the war-torn country. On Friday, September 10, the US made arrangements for the departure of at least 21 US citizens and 11 Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) from Afghanistan. Besides, another 19 US citizens were evacuated through a Qatar Airways charter flight, reported TOLO News, adding that a total of 44 seats were offered to US citizens but not all of them chose to leave the war-torn country.  

Under Operations Allies Mission, the US has been evacuating people including women and children after the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan on August 15. Amid COVID-19 concerns, the US is also planning to vaccinate all the people who are arriving in the country after being evacuated under Operation Allies Mission. On Monday, 30 August, the US announced the completion of its massive evacuation operations in Afghanistan. President Joe Biden had said that the US completed one of the biggest airlifts in history, evacuating over 120,000 people to safety. The last American soldier to leave the country, Major General Chris Donahue, boarded a US C-17 aircraft on 30 August, marking the end of a 20-year-long US mission in Kabul. 

US Secretary of State thanked Qatar for helping in the evacuations

It should be mentioned here that on Friday, September 10, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, extended his gratitude towards Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani for helping in the evacuations of US citizens from Kabul. Qatar has also hosted the Taliban's political office for over 8 years and Doha is presently a state leading the Afghanistan diplomatic operations as several Afghans that worked with NATO and US forces still await a transfer to the US and other nations. Meanwhile, US Secretary Blinken had earlier said that the US is continuously monitoring the situation by being in "constant touch" with American citizens stranded in Afghanistan. 

(With agency inputs)

Image: ANI/AP