G7 leaders meet on Afghanistan as withdrawal deadline looms

Leaders of the G7 nations are demanding the Taliban guarantees the safety of Afghans who want to leave, even after the August 31 deadline for the U.S. and its allies to pull out of Afghanistan.

A virtual meeting of the leaders, attended by U.S. President Joe Biden and Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, was chaired by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as the country currently holds the G7 presidency.

Johnson and the EU leadership asked Biden for an extension of the August 31 deadline to withdraw foreign troops, but the president is not willing to push back the date, according to the U.S. government. 

Speaking after the meeting, Johnson explained the Group asked the Taliban to guarantee Afghans' safety if they wanted to leave. 

"What we've done today at the G7 is we've got together the leading Western powers, and agreed not just a joint approach to dealing with the evacuation, but also a road map for the way we're going to engage with the Taliban, as there will probably be a Taliban government in Kabul. 

"And the number one condition we're setting as G7 is they've [the Taliban] got to guarantee, right the way through August 31 and beyond, safe passage for those who want to come out," he added. 

On Tuesday afternoon, the Taliban spokesperson Mujahid told media in Kabul the group expected foreign powers to stop encouraging Afghans to move to airports, or attempt to leave the country. 

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi said the G7 did not yet have a united view on Afghan refugees and urged the larger G20 group to meet and discuss the next global steps.  

"The G20 can help the G7 in involving other countries that are very important, because they have the possibility of controlling what happens in Afghanistan: Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and India," he said. 

European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen confirmed all the bloc's employees and diplomats – including Afghans working for the EU – have been evacuated. "I'm very grateful that most of the staff, including the Afghan staff, including their families, have been evacuated now from Afghanistan and are safe," she said. 
 

Taliban deal

Even if Biden agreed to an extension, it wouldn't be guaranteed. The US's current deal with the Taliban says troops will leave by the end of the month.

The Islamist group – which is now the dominant force in Afghanistan – has ruled out any extension. Its spokesperson told CGTN Europe on Monday that any delay to the departure "would be a clear violation" of the agreement.

Ahead of the G7 meeting, Johnson said the immediate priority for the countries was "to complete the evacuation of our citizens and Afghans who have assisted our efforts over the last 20 years."

UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace said an extension was "unlikely" but that it was "worth us all trying," referring to other members of the group.

A NATO diplomat, who spoke to Reuters anonymously, said the nations trying to evacuate people are "working at a war-footing pace to meet the deadline."

NATO said nearly 60,000 people had been evacuated in the past 10 days, including Afghans and foreign nationals.

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According to the Washington Post, CIA Director William Burns met Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday. The contents of the discussion were not revealed and the CIA and the White House have not commented on the story. 

Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said discussions on extending the window for civilian evacuations were ongoing. On Monday, Maas said Germany was in discussions with Turkey, the U.S. and the Taliban.

"We are working with the United States and Britain to ensure that once the military evacuation is completed it is still possible to fly civilians out of Kabul airport," he added on Tuesday.

 

 

Evidence builds against 'moderate Taliban'

Taliban spokesmen have repeatedly promised their Islamic government would not ban women from education or curb their freedoms. They also claimed to have forgiven those who worked for the former government, or foreign powers. 

But there have been several reports bringing that into question. Obaidullah Baheer, a lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan said he witnessed retribution carried out by Taliban fighters on the streets for "crimes" such as waving the flag of the now overthrown government. 

 

 

On Tuesday, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet told a meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva she had received credible reports of serious violations by the militants. She added the treatment of women and girls by the Taliban should be considered a "red line" by the UN. 

Although Bachelet did not give details, she said the militant group had committed "executions" of civilians and Afghan soldiers who had already surrendered.

At the same meeting, China's representative Chen Xu said the U.S., the UK and Australia should be held to account for abuses committed by their troops in the country.

"Such acts have seriously undermined the sovereignty and territorial integrity of ... countries and brought severe disasters to their people. This, indeed, is a profound lesson. It has been proven again that power politics and military means lead nowhere," Chen said, according to a transcript of his comments.

He said China respects the "will and choice of the people of Afghanistan."

 

Meanwhile, Russia has reinforced its military base in Tajikistan with anti-tank missiles, according to Russia's Interfax news agency. Russia's President Vladimir Putin met with regional leaders, including the Tajik leader, on Monday and warned of increasing terror and drug crime in Afghanistan.