UK seeks united front to put pressure on Taliban

The UK hopes international alliances can be formed to exert a “moderating influence” on the Taliban in Afghanistan and secure safe passage for people seeking to escape.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab yesterday set out the UK’s aims at a US convened meeting of the G7 group – the UK, US, Canada, Japan, Germany, France and Italy – and representatives from the EU, Turkey, Qatar and the Nato alliance.

The Taliban regime has given assurances that foreign nationals and Afghan citizens with travel authorisation can leave, but Mr Raab stressed that “we must judge them on their actions”.

The foreign secretary said the strategic priorities were to prevent Afghanistan again becoming a haven for terrorism, to ensure humanitarian access, protect the human rights gains of the last 20 years and preserve regional stability,

The Foreign Office said he also highlighted the need to work “with a range of international partners in order to exercise the maximum moderating influence on the Taliban”.

The UK is also hoping that influence Russia and China may have over the new Afghan government could help counter terrorism and the trade in drugs, preventing a refugee crisis and further economic collapse.

Meanwhile Foreign Office Minister James Cleverly has said it was impossible to estimate how many people eligible to come to the UK had been left behind after evacuation flights finished.

Around 15,000 people had been evacuated in a “herculean” effort, Mr Cleverly said, but Labour has claimed around 5,000 may have been left behind and the UK response has drawn criticism.

Mr Cleverly said of the regime: “They have said they want to be treated like a legitimate government. There’s a long way to go before we might consider that.”

The “vast, vast bulk” of British nationals had left, he told Sky News, but there were eligible people under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme – for people who helped UK forces – and others who could be under threat from the Taliban.

Asked if he had unread emails about Afghans seeking to leave in his inbox, Mr Cleverly told the BBC: “I suspect everybody has.

“We have been and will continue to work through the significant number of emails we have received to try to get as many other people out of Afghanistan as possible.”

With today’s final deadline for the withdrawal of US forces, violence continued in Kabul.

The so-called Islamic State’s Isis-K offshoot claimed it shot six rockets at Kabul’s airport yesterday, but the US military said five were intercepted.

And on Sunday, a US drone strike blew up a vehicle carrying IS suicide bombers before they could attack the military evacuation at the airport, US officials said. Reports suggested at least 10 civilians, including children, were among the dead.

GRIM TASK: Relatives bury 10 family members who were allegedly killed by a US drone strike, during a mass funeral near Kabul.

An evacuated Afghan girl gets a high five from US soldier Kimberly Hernandez at Washington Dulles Airport.