Taliban warn of consequences on US pullout extension

The Taliban on Monday warned that there would be “consequences” if the United States and its allies extend their presence in Afghanistan beyond next week, as thousands of desperate Afghans and foreigners queue up at the Kabul airport in the hope of fleeing Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers.

To oversee a chaotic airlift of foreigners and Afghans desperate to escape the Taliban regime, thousands of troops have poured back into Afghanistan and pressure is growing on Washington to extend the 31 August withdrawal deadline.

But the Taliban on Monday showed no willingness to compromise, with spokesman Suhail Shaheen telling a news channel that staying 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.

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Monday that Paris believed it necessary to continue Afghan evacuations beyond Washington’s 31 August deadline following the Taliban takeover.

France is seeking to evacuate more than 1,000 Afghans who are fleeing the country following the Taliban’s lightning takeover a week ago, one of a number of nations scrambling to pull out vulnerable individuals.

“We are concerned about the deadline set by the United States on August 31. Additional time is needed to complete ongoing operations,” Le Drian told reporters at the UAE’s Al-Dhafra air base, where France has set up an air bridge for people evacuated from Kabul.

France had “sheltered” nearly 1,200 people leaving Afghanistan between August 17 and 22, including approximately 100 French nationals and 1,000 vulnerable Afghans, as well as dozens of other nationalities, the French delegation said.

Le Drian said that access to Kabul airport was the main issue facing evacuation operations. “We still need to increase our coordination locally, with the United States and with our partners present on site,” he said.

However, the rush to leave Kabul has so far killed eight people, some crushed to death and at least one person after falling off a plane. The German defence ministry said Monday an Afghan man was killed and three others injured in a dawn firefight between local guards and unknown assailants. German and American troops “participated in a further exchange of fire”, it said in a statement.

Germany said on Monday that it was in talks with NATO allies and the Taliban to keep Kabul airport open for evacuations beyond 31 August.

Speaking at the White House on Sunday, Biden said negotiations were under way to explore the possibility of extending the deadline. He also 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.

He said, however, they were part of the cost of departure. “There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss and heartbreaking images you see,” he said.

The Pentagon on Monday said about 16,000 people were evacuated over the past 24 hours from Kabul airport, taking to 37,000 the number relocated since the intense airlift operations started on 14 August.

WITH AGENCY INPUTS