UK must face ‘new reality’ in Afghanistan, says Raab

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said that the UK needs to face the ‘new reality’ in Afghanistan and work with other nations to exercise a ‘moderating influence’ on the Taliban.

With the UK having reportedly evacuated more than 17,000 people from Afghanistan, including over 5,000 UK nationals, Raab said that the number of UK nationals left behind was in the ‘low hundreds’ and that the UK would hold the Taliban to its pledge of safe passage for those who want to leave.

He said the UK needed to get ‘wider buy in’ from China, Russia and countries in Central Asia to exercise the ‘maximum moderating influence’ on the Taliban and safeguard gains made over two decades, such as better access to education and lower maternal mortality rates.

US forces withdrew from Afghanistan on 30 August, ending their 20-year presence and leaving the Taliban in control. UK troops had already left.

Following the withdrawal the UN Security Council urged the Taliban not to allow Afghanistan to become a base for terrorism.