PACT AIMS FOR SAFE EXIT FROM AFGHANISTAN
GARNEAU SAYS CANADA HAS LEVERAGE AS NEARLY 100 COUNTRIES STRIKE DEAL WITH TALIBAN
The Taliban have pledged free passage out of Afghanistan for people authorized to travel to other countries, even after the American military departs on its deadline this Tuesday, according to a joint statement of governments around the world, including Canada.
“We are all committed to ensuring that our citizens, nationals and residents, employees, Afghans who have worked with us and those who are at risk can continue to travel freely to destinations outside Afghanistan,” reads the letter signed by nearly 100 countries.
In interviews with CBC on Sunday before the statement was released, Marc Garneau, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, said Canada is not in direct contact with the Taliban, but is working through allies who are, such as the United States and France. He said Canada’s leverage over the Taliban to help ensure the safety of people left behind is “primarily economic,” basically involving humanitarian aid.
“There’s all sorts of leverage with respect to the Taliban, who are now confronting the fact they’re in charge and they’re going to have to make the country work,” Garneau said.
Passage out of Afghanistan is easier said than done, however, now that the Kabul airport is overrun and evacuation flights appear to have been stopped for good. The rapid fall of the country to the militant and theocratic Taliban, which means “students” and is designated a terrorist organization by Canada, meant the evacuation over the past few weeks was chaotic.
The capital Kabul’s Hamid Karzai airport became a thronging mass of refugees, threatened by Taliban, targeted by Islamic State suicide bombers, overseen by spent foreign forces, and eventually left behind by the countries such as Canada whose final flights left last week.
Realization that the skies have closed has spurred many of those left behind into a desperate journey toward land borders, mainly Pakistan, over difficult roads that bear the scars of the long-running Afghan war.
In the south, people fleeing Kandahar have fled to the border town of Spin Boldak and onward into Pakistan toward Quetta. From Kabul, the closest exit is eastward to Jalalabad and through the Khyber Pass to Peshawar.
None of the countries bordering Afghanistan are signatories to the safe passage agreement. They include Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to the north, and Iran to the west. None have good diplomatic relations with Canada.
The joint statement takes note of the Taliban’s public confirmation of the deal, and said travel documents will continue to be issued.
“We have received assurances from the Taliban that all foreign nationals and any Afghan citizen with travel authorization from our countries will be allowed to proceed in a safe and orderly manner to points of departure and travel outside the country,” the statement reads.
“We will continue issuing travel documentation to designated Afghans, and we have the clear expectation of and commitment from the Taliban that they can travel to our respective countries. We note the public statements of the Taliban confirming this understanding.”
The announcement came as the United Nations Security Council planned to meet to discuss a proposal, promoted by Britain and France, to create an internationally monitored safe zone in Kabul for those trying to leave Afghanistan.
Another proposal would see air evacuation restored. The Taliban have invited the technical assistance of Qatar and Turkey in getting the airport working again, in anticipation of the American departure on Tuesday. Turkey has reportedly demanded it be allowed to deploy a security presence.
In the U.S., Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the broadcaster ABC that evacuation to America for those who remain in the country will still be possible after U.S. forces leave.
Thousands of people with connections to Canada remain in Afghanistan, including citizens, permanent residents and wartime contractors and interpreters. Fully 8,000 Afghans applied for a special resettlement program for allies through the Canadian government, of whom 2,600 made it out with Canada, and the remainder are either trying to get out or have already done so by other means, according to a recent National Post report quoting a government spokesperson.
Canada’s last evacuation flight left Thursday. The government conveyed this news to those Canadian citizens and permanent residents left behind in an email that urged them to “shelter in place. Be mindful of the security environment and where possible take the necessary steps to ensure your security and that of your family.”