- Taliban won’t let Afghans to leave via Kabul airport.
- Taliban discourages Afghans from fleeing the country.
- Taliban says all foreigners must leave Afghanistan by August 31.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid announced today that the Islamist militant group would no longer permit Afghans to enter Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport in an attempt to leave Afghanistan.
Speaking on Tuesday afternoon, Taliban spokesman said Taliban will no longer allow Afghans to leave the country via Kabul airport and called on the west not to encourage the educated elite to flee. The spokesman demanded that western powers refrain from evacuating Afghanistan’s educated elite, such as doctors and engineers.
Mujahid said that Taliban leaders were not in favor of allowing Afghans to leave, but reiterated that all foreigners must be evacuated from Afghanistan by August 31 and could continue to use Hamid Karzai International Airport until that deadline.
Mujahid also cited the chaotic situation at the airport as a reason for Afghans to avoid it. He said the crowds around the capital’s airport should return to their homes, claiming that their safety would be guaranteed.
In the same press briefing, Mujahid claimed that people could remain in Afghanistan and promised that there would be no reprisals. He said the Taliban had forgotten conflict in the past and would let bygones be bygones.
He also confirmed that the Taliban had not agreed to extend the August 31 deadline set by the US to complete their evacuation of Afghanistan.
