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UK Urges Cooperation On Safe Passage For Eligible Afghans

The foreign secretary is urging his international counterparts to work together to provide safe passage for eligible people out of Afghanistan.

Dominic Raab said the Taliban would have to be judged on their actions, having promised those with authorisation would be allowed to leave, the Foreign Office said.

Troops have arrived back in the UK after evacuations ended.

But the government says it will still help those eligible for resettlement.

Mr Raab took part in a US-chaired virtual meeting, including representatives from his G7 counterparts and Nato, on Sunday.

Turkey and Qatar – considered to have more influence over the Taliban than Western nations – also attended.

Mr Raab emphasised the need to prevent Afghanistan becoming a haven for terrorists, with stability in the region a priority.

He also stressed the need to protect human rights “and the gains of the last 20 years”, said the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK and its allies would “engage with the Taliban not on the basis of what they say but what they do”.

“If the new regime in Kabul wants diplomatic recognition, or to unlock the billions that are currently frozen, they will have to ensure safe passage for those who wish to leave the country, to respect the rights of women and girls, to prevent Afghanistan from, again, becoming an incubator for global terror, because that would be disastrous for Afghanistan,” he said.

The talks come as survivors of a US drone strike that had been targeting a suicide bomber the attack ended up killing 10 members of one family, including six children.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby they were “not in a position to dispute” the reports of civilian casualties and they were “assessing and… investigating”.

He said there had been a “very real, a very specific and a very imminent threat” to Kabul airport from IS-K (Islamic State Khorasan Province), IS’s Afghan affiliate, ahead of Sunday’s strike.

What happens to Afghan refugees coming to the UK?

Arrivals on official flights enter a 10-day Covid quarantine in a hotel
Government officials and local authorities are trying to find them permanent homes
A shortage of suitable accommodation means many will be placed in hotels
Some will get refugee status and can live in the UK permanently
Others will get a five-year visa to live and work in the UK – and can then apply for permanent residence
Afghans arriving independently will enter the normal system for asylum claims – which has a backlog of 70,000 people
These people cannot settle, or work, while their claims are considered

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