Qatar works with Taliban to reopen Kabul airport “as soon as possible”

Doha:

Qatar is working with the Taliban to reopen Kabul airport as soon as possible, its foreign minister said Thursday, urging die-hard Islamists to allow Afghans to leave.

The airport, the scene of a frantic evacuation which ended on Tuesday with the withdrawal of American troops, is out of service with much of its infrastructure degraded or destroyed.

“We are working very hard (and) we remain hopeful that we can make it work as soon as possible,” Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said.

“I hope that in the next few days we will hear some good news,” he told a press conference in Doha.

A Qatari technical team traveled to Kabul on Wednesday to discuss reopening the airport, the first plane to land there since the evacuations.

A source familiar with the matter said the aim was to resume flights both for humanitarian aid and to ensure freedom of movement, including the resumption of evacuation efforts.

More than 123,000 foreign nationals and Afghans fled the country during the airlift operation, but many more are desperate to leave.

“It is very important … that the Taliban demonstrate their commitment to providing safe passage and freedom of movement for the Afghan people,” said Sheikh Mohammed.

Qatar “engages with (the Taliban) and also with Turkey if they can provide technical assistance,” he added.

Sheikh Mohammed was addressing a joint press conference with his British counterpart Dominic Raab, who said that “we must adapt to the new reality” of the Taliban regime.

“Our immediate priority is to ensure the safe passage of the remaining British nationals, but also of the Afghans who were working for the UK, and indeed others who may be most at risk,” said Raab.

Qatar has hosted talks between the Taliban and the United States in recent years and has been a transit point for around 43,000 evacuees from Afghanistan.

The United States invaded Afghanistan and overthrew its Taliban government in 2001 following the September 11 attacks by Al Qaeda, who had sought refuge in the country.

(Except for the title, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)