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Actions not words count, UK PM Johnson says on Taliban
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday the Taliban would be judged on their actions, not their words, after they sought to convince the world they would not seek revenge after taking control of Afghanistan, Reuters reported.
Johnson faced questions over what the main opposition Labour Party described as his “complacency” in handling Britain’s response as parliament was recalled from its summer break to discuss Afghanistan.
The Taliban have said they want peace, will not take revenge against old enemies and would respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law.
“We will judge this regime based on the choices it makes, and by its actions rather than by its words, on its attitude to terrorism, to crime and narcotics, as well as humanitarian access, and the rights of girls to receive an education,” Johnson said.
Johnson, who attempted to head for a holiday on Saturday only to return as the Taliban closed in on the Afghan capital, was criticised by Labour leader Starmer for what he described as his “careless leadership”.
“There’s been a major miscalculation of the resilience of the Afghan forces and staggering complacency from our government about the Taliban,” Starmer said.
Former prime minister Theresa May, a Conservative Party colleague of Johnson, also asked how Britain could have so miscalculated the strength of the Taliban, which took Kabul on Sunday in a lightning offensive, Reuters reported.
“Was our understanding of the Afghan government so weak? Was our knowledge of the position on the ground so inadequate?” she asked her successor. “Or, did we just feel that we have to follow the United States, and hope that on a wing and a prayer, it would be all right on the night.”
The speed to the Taliban’s gains in Afghanistan after U.S.-led forces withdrew the bulk of their troops surprised the West, leaving many nations having to scramble to get their diplomats and those Afghans who had helped them out of the nation, Reuters reported.
In an interview with Al Arabiya, former Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said international companies, including United States firms, are welcome to join the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline project.
Berdymukhamedov noted that while the project enjoys U.S. support, it will need to navigate longstanding regional tensions, as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India have seen outbreaks of deadly fighting over the past year.
“This project, which enjoys international support, including from the United States, possesses immense potential in meeting the growing energy needs of South Asian nations. It also opens promising avenues for accessing the emerging markets of the Asia-Pacific region, the Near East, and the Middle East,” he said.
“The TAPI project is also of paramount importance for political stability and economic prosperity, maintaining high investment attractiveness,” Berdymukhamedov added.
Turkmenistan plans to complete the first section of the pipeline, reaching the Afghan city of Herat, by the end of 2026. No plans have yet been announced to extend the project further south.
The British political party Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, is set to impose a blanket visa ban on Afghanistan and five other countries — including Pakistan — as part of its proposed crackdown on illegal migration and states refusing to accept deported nationals.
In a speech set for Monday, the party’s newly appointed “shadow” home secretary, Zia Yusuf, will outline plans to halt all visas for diplomats, students, workers, VIPs and tourists from Pakistan, Somalia, Eritrea, Syria, Afghanistan and Sudan. Reform says these governments fail to cooperate in accepting back deported migrants and convicted criminals.
Pakistan received more than 160,000 UK visas last year, making it one of the biggest visa recipients. However, British officials say Islamabad accepts back only a small fraction of rejected asylum seekers and has resisted pressure to take back individuals convicted in high-profile criminal cases.
The move – which mirrors US President Donald Trump’s visa ban on 75 countries – would be a key element in Reform’s strategy to deport up to 288,000 illegal migrants from the UK on five charter flights a day.
On legal migration, Yusuf will say a Reform government would terminate all welfare payments to foreign nationals, including the 1.3 million currently receiving UC, up from around 900,000 in 2022.
Yusuf is expected to say that years of weak immigration enforcement have undermined public trust and that a Reform government would secure Britain’s borders and make people feel safe.
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Ex-US envoy Khalilzad condemns Pakistan air attacks on Afghanistan
He described the situation as a tragedy for both Pakistan and its neighbors, urging the Pakistani leadership to reconsider its policies and change course.
Former U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has strongly condemned Sunday’s airstrikes by Pakistan on Afghanistan. He stated that these attacks killed and wounded numerous innocent women, children, and elderly.
Khalilzad pointed to Pakistan’s long history of misgovernance, interference in minority rights, manipulation of democratic processes, and repeated military takeovers as the root causes.
He described the situation as a tragedy for both Pakistan and its neighbors, urging the Pakistani leadership to reconsider its policies and change course.
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