LONDON: US President Joe Biden will face pressure to extend an Aug 31 deadline to evacuate thousands seeking to flee the Taliban in Afghanistan when he meets Group of Seven (G7) leaders at a virtual meeting on Tuesday.
Western nations are struggling to bring home their own citizens and desperate Afghans massing at Kabul airport who are seeking to flee the country fearing reprisals after Taliban militants seized control just over a week ago.
It has led to chaotic scenes at the airport, with some 20 people killed in stampedes and shootings, amid a panic to catch flights out of the country before the United States and its allies pull out their troops.
The manner of the withdrawal, 20 years after the US-led invasion to oust the Taliban following the Sep 11, 2001, attacks, has strained tensions between Washington and other Western capitals, where there has been dismay at its timing and how it has been carried out.
At their meeting, the leaders from the G7 group of the richest nations that includes the United States, Italy, France, Germany, Japan and Canada, will focus on the evacuation effort as well as the longer-term future for Afghanistan, said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who will chair the conference.
“Our first priority is to complete the evacuation of our citizens and those Afghans who have assisted our efforts over the last 20 years – but as we look ahead to the next phase, it’s vital we come together as an international community and agree a joint approach for the longer term,” he said in a statement.
“That’s why I’ve called an emergency meeting of the G7 – to coordinate our response to the immediate crisis, to reaffirm our commitment to the Afghan people, and to ask our international partners to match the UK’s commitments to support those in need.”
