The United States has evacuated all the local Afghan staffers at the US Embassy in Afghanistan along with their families, said media reports.
According to an internal report of ABC News, about 2,800 Afghans have been successfully evacuated as of Saturday night at 8:30 pm ET on Saturday.
The Hill reported that an internal State Department Cable sent out last week reportedly said local Afghanistan embassy staffers were “deeply disheartened” by the US evacuation operations. The cable relayed reports of staffers being harassed, being spat on and cursed at by Taliban fighters at checkpoints.
“Our local staff and their families have suffered hardship, pain and loss because of their dedication to working with us to build a better future for all Afghans. We have a special commitment to them because of that,” a State Department spokesperson had said.
The United States and its partner countries in a joint statement on Sunday reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring the safe travel of their citizens and at-risk Afghans outside Afghanistan.
Since August 14, the US has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 114,400 people. Since the end of July, the US has relocated approximately 120,000 people.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday had said that the US will be engaging with the Taliban to ensure the safe evacuation of people from Afghanistan following the August 31 deadline for withdrawal,
“The President directed the Secretary of State to continue diplomatic efforts with international partners to secure means for third-country nationals and Afghans with visas to leave the country even after the US military presence ends,” Psaki had said during a press briefing.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor