LONDON, Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain would work with the Taliban if necessary after the militants capture of Afghanistan, and defended his foreign minister who has come under fire for his handling of the situation.
“What I want to assure people is that our political and diplomatic efforts to find a solution for Afghanistan, working with the Taliban, of course if necessary, will go on,” Johnson told media.
Johnson said the situation at Kabul airport, where thousands of desperate Afghans have thronged seeking exodus from the country, was getting “slightly better”.
The British government said it had secured the evacuation of 1,615 people since Saturday, including 399 British nationals and their dependants, 320 embassy staff and 402 Afghans.
Asked if he still had confidence in Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab who has faced calls for his resignation from opponents for his response to the crisis, he said: “Absolutely”.
Raab defended his response to the fall of Afghanistan dismissing as inaccurate media reports that he failed to help evacuate local translators who had worked for Britain because he was on holiday.
“The whole of government has been working tirelessly over the last week to help as many people evacuate from Afghanistan as possible,” Raab said, adding that he had been focused on events at the airport.
He said on Twitter that he was making his statement in response to “inaccurate media reporting over recent days”.
Raab and Johnson came under heavy criticism earlier this week from lawmakers from their own party who described events as a failure of leadership and moral duty.
The opposition Labour Party has said Raab should resign or be sacked for his “unforgivable failure”.
In his statement Raab said he had been advised to call the Afghan foreign minister by his office last Friday but “this was quickly overtaken by events”.
“The call was delegated to a minister of state because I was prioritising security and capacity at the airport on the direct advice of the director and the director general overseeing the crisis response,” he said.
“In any event, the Afghan Foreign Minister agreed to take the call, but was unable to because of the rapidly deteriorating situation.” — NNN-AGENCIES
