Doha:
Qatar is working with the Taliban to reopen Kabul’s airport as quickly as probable, its foreign minister stated on Thursday, urging the hardline Islamists to let Afghans to leave.
The airport, the scene of a frenzied evacuation which ended with the US troop withdrawal on Tuesday, is out of operation with significantly of its infrastructure degraded or destroyed.
“We are working very hard (and) we remain hopeful that we will be able to operate it as soon as possible,” stated Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.
“Hopefully in the next few days we will hear some good news,” he told a news conference in Doha.
A Qatari technical group flew into Kabul on Wednesday to go over reopening the airport, the initially plane to land there given that the evacuations.
A supply with information of the matter stated the purpose was to resume flights each for humanitarian help and to provide freedom of movement, which includes the resumption of evacuation efforts.
More than 123,000 foreign nationals and Afghans fled the nation in the airlift operation, but quite a few more are desperate to depart.
“It’s very important… that the Taliban demonstrate their commitment to provide safe passage and freedom of movement for the people of Afghanistan,” Sheikh Mohammed stated.
Qatar is “engaging with (the Taliban) and also with Turkey if they can provide any technical assistance”, he added.
Sheikh Mohammed was addressing a joint press conference with his British counterpart Dominic Raab, who stated “we need to adjust to the new reality” of Taliban rule.
“Our immediate priority is to secure the safe passage of those remaining British nationals, but also the Afghans who worked for the United Kingdom, and indeed others who may be at most risk,” Raab stated.
Qatar hosted negotiations amongst the Taliban and the United States in current years and was a transit point for about 43,000 evacuees from Afghanistan.
The US invaded Afghanistan and toppled its Taliban government in 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qaeda, which had sought sanctuary in the nation.
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