G7 to meet on Afghanistan deadline, Taliban recognition

Leaders of the Group of Seven countries were set to discuss on Tuesday whether to seek an extension to a Aug. 31 deadline for the evacuation of thousands of people trying to flee Afghanistan and whether to recognize or sanction a Taliban government.

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Widespread chaos punctuated by sporadic violence has engulfed Kabul’s airport since the Taliban took over the Afghan capital on Aug. 15, with Western and Afghan forces driving back crowds desperate to flee.

US President Joe Biden, who has said US troops might stay beyond the deadline, has warned the evacuation was going to be “hard and painful” and much could still go wrong.

Beyond the need to extract thousands of Americans, citizens of allied countries and Afghans who worked with foreign forces, Department of Defense officials said it would still take days to fly out the 6,000 troops deployed to secure and run the airlift. Democratic US Representative Adam Schiff, chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, told reporters after a briefing on Afghanistan by intelligence officials that he did not believe the evacuation could be completed in the eight remaining days.

“I think it’s possible but I think it’s very unlikely given the number of Americans who still need to be evacuated,” Schiff said.

A Taliban official said foreign forces had not sought an extension and it would not be granted if they had. Washington said negotiations were continuing.

FILE PHOTO: Members of Taliban forces gesture as they check a vehicle on a street in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 16, 2021. (Reuters)

‘Does it still hurt? Yes.’

Many Afghans fear reprisals and a return to a harsh version of Islamic law that the Taliban enforced while in power from 1996 to 2001, and there have been isolated, but numerous incidents posted on social media that have fanned those fears.

Leaders of the US, Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, and Japan who meet virtually later on Tuesday may use the possibility of unified official recognition, or renewed sanctions to push the Taliban to comply with pledges to respect women’s rights and international relations.

“The G7 leaders will agree to coordinate on if, or when to recognize the Taliban,” said one European diplomat. “And they will commit to continue to work closely together.”

Recognition is a political act taken by sovereign states with important consequences, including allowing the Taliban access to the foreign aid relied upon by previous Afghan governments. A 2020 agreement signed by the former Trump administration explicitly states that the group “is not recognized by the US as a state.”

Biden will face pressure from other leaders to extend the Aug. 31 deadline for evacuations. France has said more time was needed for the evacuation, and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday the G7 needed to consider whether it should remain beyond that date.

The US president has faced widespread criticism over the withdrawal, which was initiated by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump. Biden’s opinion poll numbers have slipped.

For its part, the powerful US military has been grappling with the collapse of US-backed Afghan forces after 20 years of training. “Was it worth it? Yes. Does it still hurt? Yes,” General David Berger, the commandant of the Marine Corps, wrote in a memo to Marines.

Leaders of the Taliban, who have sought to show a more moderate face since capturing Kabul, have begun talks on forming a government, while their forces focus on the last pockets of opposition.

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