London: The Taliban must “guarantee” safe passage for those fleeing Afghanistan beyond the current August 31 evacuation deadline, the G7 agreed, according to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Johnson, who convened the emergency meeting, said that he and his colleagues had agreed “a roadmap for the way in which we are going to engage with the Taliban” in the future.
But he added that the “number one condition” was “to guarantee… through August 31 and beyond, a safe passage for those who want to come out.”
The UK chaired the emergency talks among the group of wealthy countries on Tuesday, saying it would urge Biden to extend his August 31 deadline to pull American forces out of Afghanistan. France also called on Washington to push back the timeline.
However, Biden decided after the G7 talks that he would stick to the deadline, US media reported.
Britain s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said earlier Tuesday it was “unlikely” evacuations from Afghanistan would be extended beyond August 31.
A spokesman for the Taliban on Monday warned that the hardline Islamist group would not agree to any extension, calling the issue a “red line”, with any delay viewed as “extending occupation”.
“If the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations — the answer is no. Or there would be consequences,” Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Sky News. AFP
