Afghanistan crisis: Third plane with American citizens on board lands in Doha

In a promising development, a third chartered flight with an undisclosed number of Afghan evacuees flew out of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport and landed in Qatar on Friday, US special envoy Zalmai Khalilzad confirmed in a tweet. It would be the third international passenger flight allowed to take off from the Afghan soil after the Taliban take over and conclusion to the chaotic military airlifts last month. The first commercial plane flew out with an estimated 100 foreign nationals, including Canadian, Ukrainian, German, British, and Americans as Qatar worked on the ground with the hardline Islamists Taliban to ensure safe passage of the overseas nationals willing to leave the country.

It is being reported that as many as 170 civilians may have boarded the flight and a Qatari convoy ensured that the evacuees were escorted safely out into the airport despite the Taliban’s stringent watch. Hailing the evacuation effort, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted that he “was grateful” that more Americans were able to leave today on a Qatar Airways flight. “As President Biden said, there is no deadline for Americans remaining in Afghanistan. We remain committed to getting them out if they want to come home,” he said.

'We will do whatever it takes,' said US Sec of State 

Qatar's deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani had earlier thanked the Taliban for their "cooperation" in allowing them to resume the evacuation flights in an official statement. He had said that it was a signal that the Taliban’s statements can be "demonstrated into action.” The evacuees will all be reportedly housed in a compound in Doha, Qatar, then later will be transported to the United States. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier in a statement to the press said that the flights from Kabul will be allowed to depart. He said the US will do "whatever it takes" to get all Americans out of Afghanistan even after the evacuations will conclude on Aug. 31 deadline. The "president, secretary of defense have been clear that we will do whatever it takes to get Americans home and out of harm's way," he said on the Face the Nation show in televised remarks.