`THERE IS SO MUCH MORE WE CAN DO'

PM assailed for response to fall of Kabul

OTTAWA • Opposition leaders on Sunday expressed deep concerns over the Taliban's swift takeover of Kabul, criticizing the Trudeau government for what they called a failure to protect vulnerable citizens and officials stranded in Afghanistan's capital.

Their agitation came as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau officially kicked off a federal election, marking one of the first issues of contention between party leaders, who vowed to ensure that Canada's position in Afghanistan remained a part of public debate.

“This is a serious crisis,” NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said. “These are people who are at risk, many of them are those that served with Canadian forces, provided help and support, translation services. So, I wouldn't be calling an election. I'd be deploying all resources possible to get those that are at risk out of Afghanistan.

“I'm going to raise this issue and let Justin Trudeau know, let the government know, that there is so much more that we can do right now.”

Trudeau made the election call just hours after Ottawa suspended operations at its embassy in Kabul. The federal ministers of foreign affairs, immigration and defence said in a joint statement that staff were “safely on their way back to Canada.”

After seizing nearly all of Afghanistan in mere weeks, Taliban militia swept into Kabul on the weekend, taking over the presidential palace after Afghan military frantically fled. Al Jazeera, citing a personal bodyguard of President Ashraf Ghani, said the president, his wife and senior aides had flown to neighbouring Uzbekistan.

While Canadian special forces were deployed to assist embassy officials in Kabul, separate efforts to support Afghan interpreters and other locals who assisted Canadian troops have been stymied by bureaucratic red tape, according to media reports, prompting criticism that Ottawa should have acted faster to protect its allies in the region.

“We're going to be standing up for dignity and for human rights as a government, because Mr. Trudeau has not,” Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole told reporters on Sunday. “And today I'm really thinking about our military families. This is a very difficult time for them.”

The takeover of Afghanistan's capital city marks a distressing end to a nearly 20-year military campaign in which 158 Canadian soldiers and military officials died. Ottawa spent roughly $18 billion between 2001 and 2014 on its Afghanistan mission, according to some estimates.

Trudeau said he was “very concerned” about the rapid deterioration in Kabul.

“We are heartbroken at the situation the Afghan people find themselves in today,” he said. “This is especially so given the sacrifices of Canadians who believed and continue to believe in the future of Afghanistan. We will continue to work with allies and the international community to ensure that those efforts were not in vain.”

After the situation in the country began to sharply deteriorate late last week, Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announced plans on Friday to resettle up to 20,000 Afghan refugees. But many Canadian allies remain without an exit strategy and fearing for their lives.

Even some Liberal members of Parliament were upset by government response to the overthrow in Kabul, saying Western allies should have been better prepared for the fallout expected ever since the U.S. detailed plans to all but remove its military presence there.

“This was both predictable and predicted, and the results will be tragic beyond belief, especially for those Afghans who worked for Canada and for all women and girls,” Liberal MP Andrew Leslie said on Twitter.

Taliban leadership had earlier this week said that it would not enter Kabul while a transitional government was being formed, but quickly reversed that position to “prevent chaos and looting,” according to a statement by the group. Media reports described traffic jams and crowded confusion at the Kabul international airport, where thousands of Afghan citizens and foreign officials scrambled to flee the city.

Residents reported sporadic gunfire in the area of the Hamid Karzai International Airport on Sunday, as U.S. troops aided the departure of U.S. personnel.

“There are reports of the airport taking fire; therefore we are instructing U.S. citizens to shelter in place,” the U.S. embassy said in a security alert.

In a statement Sunday, Global Affairs Canada said it was unclear when it would resume operations at its Kabul embassy.