Taliban Reaffirms Evacuation Limits From Afghanistan: US Wants It As Soon As Possible, UK Is Ready Until Last Minute

Civilians board a British military plane to be evacuated from Afghanistan. (Twitter/@DefenceHQ)

JAKARTA - The United States and Britain, with the assistance of a number of countries, are continuing to step up evacuation efforts from Kabul, Afghanistan, with President Joe Biden calling the entire process on schedule as soon as possible, while the British Foreign Secretary will support evacuations until the last minute.

Yesterday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid reiterated that anyone wishing to leave Afghanistan would be able to do so until August 31. Mujahid also said the road to Kabul's international airport had been closed and only foreign nationals were allowed to pass.

"We will not allow evacuation operations past August 31. We have closed the road to the airport and only let foreigners pass", said Mujahid.

The United States and its allies have evacuated more than 70.000 people, including their nationals, NATO personnel, and Afghans at risk, since August 14, the day before the Taliban overran the capital, Kabul.

Western nations are rushing to complete airlifts before the deadline for the withdrawal of foreign troops under a deal struck with the Taliban last year to end America's longest war.

Regarding the evacuation, President Biden said US troops were on pace to meet the deadline.

"The sooner we can get it done, the better. Everyday operations carry additional risks for our forces", President Biden said, quoting Reuters on Wednesday, August 25.

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Wednesday that the deadline for evacuating people from Afghanistan was until the last minute of this month.

Raab was questioned after a White House spokesman said at a briefing on Tuesday that they needed to check whether the evacuation deadline was until the last minute of August 30 or August 31.

He also said Britain wanted to continue to use every remaining hour and day to fly remaining British nationals overseas, as well as Afghans working for the UK and other vulnerable individuals.

"We think it lasts until the end of August but military planners will confirm the details for the exact time frame", Raab told BBC TV.

Minister Raab added that Britain hoped there would be a functioning airport in Kabul, Afghanistan after the evacuation ended. Britain has evacuated more than 9.000 people from Afghanistan since August 15, including 2.000 in the past 24 hours, he said.