US thanks Taliban for cooperation in evacuation of foreigners
Kabul, Sep 11 (EFE).- The United States envoy for peace in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, on Saturday thanked the Taliban and the Government of Qatar for their cooperation in the evacuation of some 250 foreigners from Afghanistan.
“Over the last three days, over 250 foreign nationals, including dozens of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, departed Kabul unhindered on Qatari flights. This is positive,” Khalilzad tweeted on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Besides expressing gratitude, the US envoy also recognized “Taliban’s cooperation in this important effort.”
“We will continue to engage the government of Qatar, the Taliban, and others to ensure the safe passage of our citizens, other foreign nationals, and Afghans that want to leave,”concluded Khalilzad.
Following the end of the evacuation operations on Aug.30, the first regular flight from Kabul airport with foreign nationals on board left for the Doha on Thursday.
The interim Taliban government also gave the green light for the travel of some 200 Americans and other passengers.
Several Arab countries in the Persian Gulf, all allies of the US, have provisionally received thousands of evacuated Afghans or served as transit points for Western citizens.
A Qatari team has also been in Kabul since the end of the US withdrawal on Aug.31 to help operate the airport, while several countries in the area have been chartering humanitarian flights to Afghanistan since the end of last week.
The Taliban took control of Kabul on Aug.15, marking the conclusion of the takeover of the country by the Islamist group.
The new interim Taliban government, announced earlier this week, has been criticized by the international community for being being made up of only fundamentalists and without any representation of women.
More than a dozen members of the new Taliban cabinet also feature on the UN Security Council terror blacklist, many of them with arrest warrants issued by US agencies. EFE
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