Leaders of the Group of Seven rich nations (G7) have agreed that the Taliban must guarantee Afghans safe passage after the August 31 deadline.
This came during a virtual meeting mainly tacking the Afghan refugee crisis after the Taliban takeover of Kabul.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the G7 has agreed to a plan to deal with the Taliban to allow safe passage to Afghans wanting to leave the country.
“What we’ve done today, the G7, is we’ve agreed not just a joint approach to dealing with the evacuation, but also a road map for the way in which we’re going to engage with the Taliban,” Johnson said.
“The number one condition we’re setting as G7 is that they’ve got to guarantee right the way through, through August 31 and beyond safe passage for those who want to come out.
“Some of them will say that they don’t accept that, some of them I hope will see the sense of that. The G7 has very considerable leverage, economic, diplomatic and political.”
Earlier last week, Johnson said he will table the US’s evacuation deadline from Afghanistan during a virtual G7 leaders’ meeting.
Reuters reported that Johnson will urge US President Joe Biden to extend the evacuation deadline from Afghanistan.
Taliban Refuses Evacuation Extension
However, the Taliban group considered the deadline for withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan a ‘red line.’
The group further warned of consequences if American boots remain on the ground beyond August 31.
There will be ‘consequences’ if they extend the deadline for US withdrawal from Afghanistan beyond August 31, the Taliban said.
A spokesperson for the Taliban, Suhail Shaheen, said the August 31 deadline for US withdrawal is a “red line”.
“If the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations, the answer is no.”
He went on to say that there will be “consequences” in case of any plan to extend the withdrawal deadline.
This warning from the Taliban seems well-timed with G7 leaders set to meet on Tuesday.
