Don’t shun ‘friendly’ Taliban, says pet charity boss on return to Kabul

A BRITISH animal rescue charity that controversially evacuated cats and dogs during the fall of Kabul has returned to Afghanistan, with its founder describing the Taliban as “friendly”.

Pen Farthing, the former Royal Marine who founded the Nowzad charity, has been back to the country five times and called on Britain to stop shunning the militant regime.

The Kabul-based charity has resumed work running a small clinic for pets, as well as giving rabies vaccinations and sterilising cats and dogs. The Taliban government which took over the country in August 2021 had allowed his charity to “continue with our mission objectives”, he told The Economist, adding that his dealings with the regime had been “always polite and friendly”.

He also told the newspaper the international community should not turn its back on the insurgents turned rulers. He said: “They are back in power because we put them back in power.”

As desperate Afghans tried to flee during the fall of Kabul, Mr Farthing launched a high-profile campaign to evacuate his animals and staff. He was eventually able to evacuate 94 stray dogs and 68 cats on one of the last flights out of the country, in a privately chartered plane. Critics alleged the decision to give the plane a landing slot gave the impression the UK cared more for animals than its Afghan allies.

Major Andrew Fox, who did three tours of Afghanistan, criticised Mr Farthing for “shilling Taliban propaganda”. He said: “It underlines his status as one of the great self-obsessed hypocrites of our time. It proves that he whipped up needless hysteria during the extraction, diverting time and effort away from saving lives. Farthing needs to stop shilling Taliban propaganda.”