UK scrambles to complete Kabul airlift as envoy flags risk of provoking Taliban
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Britain has begun a last-ditch scramble to get people out of Kabul amid warnings from the senior diplomat on the ground that staying past the 31 August deadline may not be realistic and risks provoking the Taliban.
Speaking to MPs from Kabul, Sir Laurie Bristow, the British ambassador to Afghanistan, said trying to hold Kabulâs airport any longer would be fraught with risk.
His remarks appear to put him at odds with Boris Johnson, who is due to lobby the US president, Joe Biden, at Tuesdayâs G7 summit about the possibility of extending the evacuation beyond the end of the month.
But in a frank admission about the dire situation in the Afghan capital, Bristow made clear the Taliban would not tolerate western forces staying into September â" a spokesman for the group said on Monday this would cross a âred lineâ and âprovoke a reactionâ.
He said: âThe signalling that weâre seeing from the Taliban, including earlier today, is pretty uncompromising that they want the operation finished by the end of the month.
âSo I think it follows from that, that if the US and its allies were to try to push beyond that, then thereâs at least a risk there, of us doing so in a much more difficult and less compliant environment.â
The virtual meeting also heard that planning by the British military for the end of the emergency airlift by the RAF, which has evacuated more than 5,700 people since 13 August, had already begun.
Maj Gen Nick Borton, the chief of staff for operations, said they were ânow starting to plan the conclusionâ of the evacuation âand the difficult business of drawing the operation to a closeâ eight days before the current deadline.
A final decision by the US is likely to emerge from Tuesdayâs virtual G7 meeting, but any agreement would have to be negotiated with the Taliban, who control Kabul, the airport perimeter and access to it.
Officials in Washington confirmed that the UK has asked for the deadline for the Kabul evacuation to be extended, and the US has been resistant.
âWe would absolutely consider the views and opinions of our allies and partners who also have people there, and are ⦠very much a part of moving people out,â said John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesperson.
A source familiar with the discussions said: âBidenâs stance is different from the UK stance on that, and I think thereâs a recognition that the 31st makes it very difficult to get things done in time, so thatâs being explored.â
âThe challenge is of course the Taliban no doubt will have a view on that, so thereâs a question about how much flexibility there actually is for decision making,â the source added.
Johnson and Biden spoke on Monday evening ahead of the G7 meeting, the first time they had spoken for nearly a week. The two leaders discussed the progress of the emergency airlift, according to statements from the White House and Downing St.
âThe leaders agreed to continue working together to ensure those who are eligible to leave are able to, including after the initial phase of the evacuation has ended,â Downing St said, adding that the two leaders ânoted the importance of concerted diplomatic engagement to secure the progress made in Afghanistan and prevent a humanitarian crisisâ.
Meanwhile, Dominic Raab will say in Tuesdayâs Daily Telegraph that Britain will use âall of the levers at our disposal, including sanctions, aid and access to international finance systemsâ to address the escalating crisis.
The foreign secretary has come under criticism for alleged inaction while Afghanistan was falling to the Taliban.
The warning from Bristow came as part of the first briefing of MPs by the government since the start of the Afghan crisis a couple of weeks ago.
The briefing also heard that:
The threat to British troops and evacuees in Kabul from Isisâs affiliate in Afghanistan is deemed to be âsevereâ. Many of its members have been released from prison by the Taliban as they gradually took control of the country. On Monday morning there was a firefight at Kabul airport during which an Afghan guard was killed.
A warning that six people deemed âa direct threatâ to the UK had presented themselves to British authorities handling resettlement claims.
Diplomatic and immigration staff based in Kabul were âgetting burned out quite fastâ, according to Bristow, because of the pressure of dealing with people wanting to be evacuated. Overnight, five Foreign Office staff joined the diplomatic team to help give those on the ground a break.
MPs have complained individual cases were getting lost in the system. Lisa Nandy, the shadow foreign secretary, said the âconsular hotline just isnât workingâ and presented a list of questions she hoped ministers would answer. Chris Bryant, a Labour backbencher, added: âWeâve got caseworkers who are in tears because theyâre just not getting any help anywhere.â
Ministers had already begun hinting publicly that an end to the airlift could be close. Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, said the evacuation was âdown to hours, not weeksâ.
The junior defence minister James Heappey said the focus was now on evacuating about 1,800 British passport-holders, and 2,275 people already accepted as having a right to resettle in the UK because they had helped as interpreters.
Kabul airport is held by more than 5,000 US troops with the support of 1,000 from the UK, as well as forces from other countries â" but without the US presence and the effective permission of the Taliban it cannot remain open.
A total of 1,384 people were airlifted out of Kabul by the RAF on Monday, the Ministry of Defence said, taking the total to 7,109. The total includes 4,226 Afghans, plus Britons, dual nationals and some people from partner countries, since the evacuation began on 13 August.
A spokesperson for the Taliban, Suhail Shaheen, told Sky News there could be a military response if Washington were to extend its evacuation operation. He said: âIf they are intent on continuing the occupation ⦠it will provoke a reaction.â
Borton also told MPs that the British military had expected to complete an airlift in a Kabul that was still held by Afghan security forces because most predictions were that the capital would not fall until later in the year.
Plans were also drawn up in the event that Kabul was held by a hostile Taliban, but Borton said that what nobody had anticipated was the evacuation would be conducted in a âpeaceful Kabul under Taliban controlâ.
Communication between the White House and Downing Street during the crisis appears poor, with British ministers and officials repeatedly complaining that the US administration has not been clear with allies how long it plans to keep its military on the ground, and allow the evacuation to continue.
On Sunday, the US secretary of state, Tony Blinken, acknowledged that it had been a âpowerfully emotional time for a lot of allies and partnersâ.
âIâve heard, across the board, deep appreciation and thanks from allies and partners for everything that weâve done to bring our allies and partners out of harmâs way,â he told Fox News.
The prime minister will use the G7 meeting to call on others to bolster aid to the region. âTogether with our partners and allies, we will continue to use every humanitarian and diplomatic lever to safeguard human rights and protect the gains made over the last two decades,â he said. âThe Taliban will be judged by their deeds and not their words.â
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