Afghanistan crisis: First civilian flight leaves Kabul after US withdrawal

Around 200 foreigners, including Americans, fly out to Doha

Dozens of foreigners, including Americans, have left Kabul on an international commercial flight, marking the first large-scale evacuation since US and NATO forces left Afghanistan late last month.
 

Their departure on Thursday represented a breakthrough in the bumpy coordination between the US and Afghanistan’s new Taliban leaders. The Taliban have said they would let foreigners and Afghans with valid travel documents leave, but a dayslong standoff over charter planes at another airport had cast some doubt on Taliban assurances.
 

The Qatar Airways flight is heading to Doha.
 

A senior US official said that Americans, green card holders and other nationalities including Germans, Hungarians and Canadians are on the flight.
 

Some 200 foreigners, including Americans, boarded the international commercial flight from Kabul airport.
 

A dayslong stand-off over charter planes at another airport had left dozens of passengers stranded and cast doubt on Taliban assurances to allow foreigners and Afghans with proper travel documents to leave the country.
 

A senior US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorised to brief the media, provided the number of Westerners on board and said that two very senior Taliban officials had helped facilitate the departure. Americans, green card holders and other nationalities including Germans, Hungarians and Canadians were on the flight, the official said.

Burns meets Bajwa, ISI chief

America's Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns on Thursday met Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and ISI head Lt Gen Faiz Hamid during which they discussed issues related to regional security issues and the current situation in Afghanistan, the military said.
 

The meeting was held after the Taliban on Tuesday unveiled a hardline interim government with at least 14 members of the Cabinet, including acting Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund, being listed on the UN Security Council's terrorism blacklist. (PTI)

Taliban slams US sanctions

The Taliban accused the US of violating last year’s peace deal signed in Doha, and called on the Biden administration to immediately lift sanctions agai­nst senior members of the Tali­ban’s new cabinet. Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is on the FBI’s most wanted list for terrorism, and his family are “p­art of the Islamic Emirate,” Taliban spok­esman Zabihullah Mujahed sai­d. “Similarly, in the Doha Agre­ement all officials of the Islamic Emirate without any exception were part of the interaction with the US and should have been removed from the UN and US blacklists, a demand which still remains valid. (Reuters)