Afghanistan live news: Taliban say they seek no ‘revenge’ in press conference; vice-president says he is caretaker president – The Guardian

Refugee charities have urged the UK’s government to set targets on the number of people it aims to settle in Britain who have fled from Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to unveil a new scheme for incoming Afghans who are fleeing the nation after the Taliban launched a takeover. A Number 10 spokesperson described it as a “bespoke” scheme, but further details are yet to be released, PA reports. It has been reported that it will be based on the Syrian Vulnerable People’s Resettlement Scheme, a programme that was set up in 2014 with an aim to help give new lives to people who fled Syria after the outbreak of war. Beth Gardiner-Smith, chief executive of Safe Passage International, said the Government’s intentions “must be backed by clear, ambitious numerical targets”. Robina Qureshi, director of Positive Action in Housing, said: “We should not forget that there are thousands of Afghan asylum seekers already in the UK who are unable to build a life because they are still waiting for their asylum claim decided upon.

We are therefore calling on the Prime Minister to recognise the plight of Afghans already here and grant them asylum and not to differentiate between those who arrived by boat, lorry or other ‘irregular’ means.”

Afghanistan must be prevented from slipping “back to a hotbed for international terrorism”, Keir Starmer said.

Speaking after attending a meeting with national security adviser, Sir Stephen Lovegrove, the Labour leader said the priority in the response to the collapse of Kabul into the hands of the Taliban must be preventing the resurgence of terrorism and ensuring that the rights of women and girls are protected.

Asked whether he feared terrorists could set up in Afghanistan again following the Taliban takeover, Starmer told broadcasters: “Yes, I am concerned about that terrorist risk and my concern generally is that Afghanistan could become a place where international terrorism emanates again.”

He said when parliament is recalled on Wednesday to discuss the crisis, he would be pushing Boris Johnson over his plan for refugees.

Alphabet Inc’s YouTube said it bans accounts that are believed to be owned and operated by the Taliban, Reuters reports.
Separately, the Financial Times reported that Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging service has shut down a complaints helpline set up by the Taliban after it took control of the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Boris Johnson has joined with other international leaders to warn the Taliban its legitimacy to govern Afghanistan will depend on its commitment to human rights, as the militants claimed animosities with foreign powers were over, PA Media reports.
In a telephone call with Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, Johnson said the recognition of a future Taliban government in Afghanistan would “be subject to them upholding internationally-agreed standards on human rights and inclusivity”, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

Afghan women, holding placards, gather to demand the protection of Afghan women’s rights in front of the Presidential Palace in Kabul. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The main challenge in evacuating French citizens and Afghan staff who worked for French authorities is the difficulty of reaching Kabul airport, the French defence minister, Florence Parly, said on Tuesday.

Parly spoke as a first flight with 40 evacuees – French, Afghan and other nationals – landed at a Paris airport, Reuters reports.
“The situation at Kabul airport remains very chaotic and access to the airport is extremely difficult,” Parly told reporters.
She said that France relies on the United States army to provide security for Kabul airport and that further evacuation flights would depend on getting landing slots.

You can read the Guardian’s full report on the Taliban press conference here:

Taliban seek no ‘revenge’ and all Afghans will be ‘forgiven’

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid gestures as he arrives at the press conference in Kabul.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid (L) gestures as he arrives to hold the first press conference in Kabul on August 17, 2021 Photograph: Hoshang Hashimi/AFP/Getty Images

People fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan are due to arrive imminently in Manchester where they will be temporarily housed in hotels, the city council leader has said.

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester city council, said Afghan nationals were “on their way” and that their planes would be landing “any moment”.

Some of the arrivals are expected to be housed at two airport hotels in Manchester although details are yet to be confirmed by Manchester city council.

Leese said: “We’re certainly not going to turn our back on those people. What we are certainly going to do is make the case that if we are really a caring country we need to make sure we put the proper resources and systems in to support these people very, very quickly [and] get them out of hotels and get them into homes… We’ll continue to make that case for proper support.”

More from the Taliban’s first press conference. Interpreters and contractors who supported allied efforts will be pardoned.

According to a translation by Al Jazeera, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, said:

I would like to reassure all the compatriots, whether they were translators, whether they had military activities or whether they have been civilians, all of them have been pardoned.

Nobody is going to be treated with revenge.

The youths who have talents, who have grown up here – we do not want them to leave. These are our assets, we would like them to stay here to serve.

We would like to assure you that no one is going to knock on their door to inspect them or to ask them or interrogate them as to who they have been working for or interpreting for.

I would like to assure you that no harm is going to come, they are going to be safe.

Any Taliban soldiers who have carried out house-to-house inspections are “abusers” and will be “chased and investigated”, Mujahid said.

The Russian ambassador to Afghanistan said he had a “constructive” and “positive” meeting with Taliban representatives in Kabul to discuss security for the Russian diplomatic mission, AP reports.

Ambassador Dmitry Zhirnov told Russian state TV on Tuesday that the meeting was “dedicated exclusively to the security of the embassy” and involved “senior Taliban representatives in the city who were accepting the surrender of the remnants of the self-disbanded Afghan national security forces”.

“The meeting was positive and constructive,” Zhirnov said. “The Taliban representatives said the Taliban has the friendliest … approach to Russia. They confirmed guarantees of security for the embassy.”

Russia designated the Taliban a terrorist organisation in 2003, but has since hosted several rounds of talks in Afghanistan, most recently in March, that involved the group.

Moscow, which fought a 10-year war in Afghanistan that ended with the Soviet troops’ withdrawal in 1989, has made a diplomatic comeback as a mediator, reaching out to feuding Afghan factions as it has jockeyed with the US for influence in the country, AP reports.

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