U.S. evacuations flights restart from Kabul as Taliban declares ‘amnesty’ for government officials
WASHINGTON – U.S. military evacuation flights resumed from Afghanistan amid relative calm Tuesday as the Taliban sought to allay fears about their sweep to power by declaring “amnesty” for government officials and urging women to join the government.
Chaos unfolded just a day earlier at Hamid Karzai International Airport, where thousands of Afghans desperate to flee the country forced the U.S. and other countries to halt the evacuation of diplomats and Afghan civilians who assisted American troops.
U.S. military commanders in Kabul are communicating with Taliban officials outside the international airport to allow for the safe evacuation of U.S. citizens and Afghans, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Tuesday.
Kirby declined to characterize the discussions but said “the results are speaking for themselves.”
The airport is open and as many as 800 people have been evacuated overnight, including 165 U.S. citizens, said Army Gen. William Taylor, an official on the Joint staff.
Evacuation flights could carry as many as 9,000 people out of Afghanistan per day, Taylor said. The airport has been secured by American Marines and soldiers, and more than 4,000 troops will be on the ground by the end of Tuesday, he added.
Taliban tries to portray different stance on women
Many feared the Taliban’s return to power, governed by strict Islamic law, but Enamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban’s cultural commission, tried to calm an unsettled country by announcing “complete amnesty” for those who worked for the fallen government.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan with full dignity and honesty has announced a complete amnesty for all Afghanistan, especially those who were with the opposition or supported the occupiers for years and recently,” he said, according to the Associated Press.
Samangani also tried to convince Afghans the militant group had changed its views on women. Before the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks, women virtually had no rights under Taliban’s oppressive rule. Most women were forced to quit their jobs and stay at home and lost access to education and health care, enduring high rates of both illiteracy and maternal mortality.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan doesn’t want the women to be the victims anymore,” Samangani said. “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is ready to provide women with environment to work and study, and the presence of women in different (government) structures according to Islamic law and in accordance with our cultural values.”
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Biden’s remarks draw bipartisan criticism; $500M pledged for refugees
The first comments about how the militant group said it plans to govern come as President Joe Biden defended his decision to withdraw U.S. troops despite the rapid collapse of the Afghan government.
The president returned to Camp David, the Maryland presidential retreat, and stayed largely out of view as he drew bipartisan criticism for the administration’s handling of the evacuations.
Following his remarks, the White House announced Biden allocated $500 million from the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund to assist refugees fleeing Afghanistan.
The additional funds will be used to meet “unexpected urgent refugee and migration needs of refugees, victims of conflict, and other persons at risk as a result of the situation in Afghanistan, including applicants for Special Immigrant Visas,” according to the White House.
Kirby told ABC’s “Good Morning America” the U.S. vowed to meet “our moral and sacred obligations” to allied Afghans.
“We plan on being on the ground there in Afghanistan for the next couple of weeks,” Kirby said during an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “It’s not just about moving out Americans. It is very much about meeting our moral and sacred obligations to those Afghans who helped us over the last 20 years, getting as many of them out as we can.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan are due to brief reporters later Tuesday.
Contributing: Associated Press