UK warns Taliban against sealing Afghanistan off from the world

Britain on Wednesday warned the Taliban against attempts to coercively seal off Afghanistan from the rest of the world and urged the militant group to keep its borders openForeign Secretary Dominic Raab said attempts by the Taliban to shut down the country could trigger a refugee crisis once Western forces withdrew from Kabul airport on August 31 as migrants make their way to neighbouring countriesHe noted that the Afghan border was rugged and wideranging and that efforts to isolate the country from the rest of the world would failIf the Taliban leadership as they were saying overnight want to avoid the brain drain theyre not going to be able to do that by coercively blocking the border he told Times RadioAlso Read China Taliban hold their first dialogue in KabulYoull just see a larger flow of refugees going out and theyll have to be processed Theyre not going to be able to avoid the refugee crisis by just a few roadblocks theyre not going to be able to hermetically seal the Afghan border which is rugged and wideranging he saidDuring a series of interviews on Wednesday Raab also sought to dismiss media reports of him lounging on the beach on holiday at the height of the Afghan crisis earlier this monthHe stressed that he had been constantly in virtual contact with the COBRA Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms meeting and officials to ensure the airlift of British nationals and supporters from the country He said that the UK has evacuated more than 9000 people from Afghanistan since August 15 including 2000 people in the last 24 hoursI think its going right the way up to the end of the calendar month Raab said in reference to efforts to airlift a further 4000 people ahead of the Talibans August 31 exit deadline This also includes a Royal Marine veteran Paul Pen Farthing who has been seeking evacuation with all the animals from his rescue shelter in the regionDefence Secretary Ben Wallace had earlier said he could not prioritise animals over humans in the rescue mission but in a latest tweet he held out some hope for FarthingIf he arrives at Kabul Airport with his animals we will seek a slot for his plane If he does not have his animals with him he and his staff can board an RAF Royal Air Force flight said WallaceThe UK and other allies including through an emergency G7 meeting on Tuesday had urged the US to stay beyond August 31 to allow more time for evacuation flights But the Taliban remains staunchly opposed to any such extension and US President Joe Biden has also said the airlift had to come to an end by then because of the growing risk of an attack by the Islamic State group in AfghanistanPrime Minister Boris Johnson who chaired the G7 virtual meet told reporters following the talks that the Wests number one condition for releasing the frozen assets was ldquosafe passagerdquo for people fleeing the country Last week the US froze USD 95 billion in assets belonging to the central bank of AfghanistanIf those huge funds are going to be unfrozen eventually for use by the government and people of Afghanistan then what were saying is Afghanistan cant lurch back into becoming a breeding ground of terror Afghanistan cant become a narco state girls have got to be educated up to the age of 18 said JohnsonThose are important things that we value Those are things we fought for for years in Afghanistan for which people in this country gave their lives We remain committed to those values and we remain committed to Afghanistan The No 1 condition were insisting on is safe passagerdquo he saidThe G7 joint statement also revolves around the central concern of the safe exit of foreigners and Afghans eligible for evacuation for having supported the USled NATO operation in the countryThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever