Germany under pressure over Taliban evacuation deadline

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - The German foreign minister Tuesday acknowledged his country will not be able to fly out all Germans and Afghan local staff from Afghanistan by Aug. 31, a deadline set by the Taliban for evacuation.

“We will not be able to get everyone out of Afghanistan in the remaining days of this military evacuation operation. One has to honestly say that,” Heiko Maas told the BILD television.

The US troops controlling Kabul airport – the only one in the country functioning – are slated to leave by Aug. 31.

Washington is reportedly under pressure by its Western allies to delay its pullout from Afghanistan to allow more time for evacuating those who want to flee the country in the wake of the Taliban takeover.

“The Americans have said they will continue this military evacuation until Aug. 31. At the moment, Washington is talking about whether this can be extended," said Maas.

“You have to weigh up how long you can guarantee the safety of the forces on site and the people who wanted to be flown out,” the minister said, adding: “That is a very, very difficult trade-off.”

Maas reiterated while there was not enough time to bring everyone to safety, his country, along with the US and Britain, has now started to consider plans for how people can be brought out of Afghanistan after the military evacuation.

The end of military evacuation should not mean the end of people's opportunities to leave the country, the minister stressed.

Maas added: "To do this, you have to go ways that you don't want to go."

Germany's top diplomat was alluding to the negotiations with the Taliban which have already kicked off in the Qatari capital Doha.

The current situation has "a lot to do with the fact that we all misjudged the situation, that we did not assume that Kabul would fall so quickly, that armed forces would not oppose President (Ashraf) Ghani leaving the country,” the minister said.

So far, Germany has evacuated more than 3,650 people from Afghanistan, with most of them local Afghan helpers.

The number of local Afghan staff who worked for the German government in Afghanistan is estimated at around 10,000 people, including their families.