Taliban fighters patrol the streets of Afghan capital Kabul. AFP
The Taliban warned August 23 there would be “consequences” if the US and its allies try to remain in Afghanistan beyond next week, as Washington ramped up its efforts to evacuate tens of thousands of people desperate to flee.
Thousands of troops have poured back into the country to oversee the chaotic airlift of foreigners and Afghans from Kabul airport, and pressure is mounting on US President Joe Biden to extend an August 31 deadline for full withdrawal.
Biden and his Group of Seven (G7) counterparts – several of whom are pushing him to leave soldiers at the airport to keep it open – were due to meet on August 24, with coordination on Afghanistan and how to handle the hardline Islamist Taliban atop the agenda.
“The goal is to get as many people out as fast as possible,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on August 23. “The focus is on trying to do this as best we can, by the end of the month.”
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that the White House believes it can get all US citizens out by the deadline – but insisted the large majority of those being evacuated each day were Afghan nationals.
So far, the Taliban have shown no willingness to compromise.
Spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Sky News that any foreign military presence beyond the agreed deadline would be “extending occupation”.
“If the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations – the answer is no … there would be consequences,” he said.
The Taliban are currently working on forming a government, but two sources within the movement told AFP there would be no announcements on a cabinet until the last US soldier has left Afghanistan.
The rush to leave Kabul has sparked harrowing scenes and left at least eight people dead – some were crushed to death and at least one, a youth football player, died after falling off a plane.
The German defence ministry on August 23 said an Afghan man was killed and three others wounded in a dawn firefight between local guards and unknown assailants.
The Taliban, infamous for an ultra-strict interpretation of Islamic law during their 1996-2001 rule, have repeatedly claimed to be different this time and declared an amnesty for government forces and officials.
But an intelligence document for the UN said militants were going door-to-door hunting former government officials and those who worked with US and NATO forces.
In the capital, the former insurgents have enforced some sense of calm in a city long marred by violent crime, with their fighters patrolling the streets and manning checkpoints.
With government offices still mostly closed, many Afghans are worried about being paid – but the Taliban announced the appointment of a central bank governor August 23 to keep the wheels of finance moving.
The hardliners have also been looking to make their authority visible to all, ensuring the tri-coloured national flag is replaced with their white banner.
Over the weekend in Kabul, young men set up a roadside stand to sell Taliban flags, which bear in black text the Muslim proclamation of faith and the regime’s formal name – “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”.
While Biden and his top aides insist the airlift can be completed on time, the EU and Britain are saying that is impossible.
British defence secretary Ben Wallace said Prime Minister Boris Johnson would raise the issue at the G7 virtual summit.
“If their timetable extends even by a day or two, that will give us a day or two more to evacuate people,” Wallace told reporters in Scotland.
Germany said it was in talks with NATO allies and the Taliban to keep Kabul’s airport open for evacuations beyond August 31, while France said “additional time is needed to complete ongoing operations”.
“We remain in close touch with allies and partners to coordinate the evacuation of their own citizens and their priority personnel,” Sullivan said at the White House.
Biden and his aides have acknowledged the tragic scenes at the airport, which have included babies and children being passed to soldiers over razor-wire fences and men clinging to the outside of departing planes, but say they are unavoidable.
“There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss and heart-breaking images you see,” Biden said on August 22.
A White House official on August 23 said 10,900 people were evacuated over the past 12 hours (until 1900 GMT) from Kabul airport, taking to 48,000 the number relocated since the intensified airlift began on August 14.
