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US, NATO working on plan to help secure Kabul airport after withdrawal
The United States and its NATO allies are exploring a possible international effort to help secure the airport in Afghanistan’s capital after American troops withdraw from the country, the top US general said this week, Reuters reported.
According to US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a secure airport would be essential to ensuring that the United States and European allies could maintain embassies in Afghanistan.
“We are working out the details of how to secure the airport, how to support the Afghan military securing the airport, and what countries are willing to contribute to do that,” Milley told reporters shortly before landing in Washington after talks with NATO allies in Brussels.
President Joe Biden’s April order to pull out all troops by September 11 could inflame Afghanistan’s internal conflict between the internationally backed Afghan government and the Taliban insurgency, Reuters reported.
The Biden administration has stressed that the United States will remain committed to Afghanistan, shifting its focus to diplomacy while continuing robust financial support to Kabul.
But such diplomacy — including efforts to foster a so-far elusive peace agreement between Kabul and the Taliban — would suffer greatly if the United States and its European allies can’t keep embassies open because of security threats inside Afghanistan, reported Reuters
Milley said of the airport: “That is one of the keys to maintaining a diplomatic presence.”
He said NATO chiefs of defense discussed the issue in Brussels on Tuesday. But decisions about any security force deployments by individual countries for the airport would be made later by political leadership, he said.
Milley declined to speculate about the size of any international force at the airport.
“I think NATO and others are working that in various working groups to see what the exact number is going to be. Those numbers aren’t known right now,” he said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan announced on Tuesday the release of American citizen Dennis Coyle from prison.
According to the ministry, Coyle’s mother had written to the leader of the Islamic Emirate demanding amnesty and the release of her son on the occasion of Eid. The Supreme Court considered time served sufficient and decided to release him.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that this action was carried out on the basis of humanitarianism and good faith, and it believes that such measures can strengthen trust between countries. The ministry also expressed hope that both countries, in the future, can find solutions to remaining issues through mutual understanding and constructive dialogue.
The Islamic Emirate also expressed appreciation for the cooperation of the United Arab Emirates in this matter.
Separately, for Coyle’s release, an American delegation, including Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, met on Tuesday with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate.
The meeting was also attended by Saif Mohammed Al-Ketbi, Ambassador of the UAE in Kabul, and a member of the prisoner’s family.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Muttaqi stated that the Islamic Emirate has not detained any citizen of any country to achieve political objectives; rather, detentions were the result of legal violations, and individuals were released after completing judicial procedures.
At the meeting, Khalilzad praised the action of the Islamic Emirate and emphasized the importance of continuing discussions on all issues between the two countries, expressing hope for further progress in the future.
Muttaqi also stressed that Kabul and the UAE should provide standard consular services to their citizens, and that the Afghan government is fully prepared in this regard.
He thanked Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, for their constructive role in facilitating the release of the prisoner and referred to the UAE as a close friend of Afghanistan.
Earlier, Muttaqi had also praised the role of the State of Qatar in facilitating information exchange between the Islamic Emirate and the prisoner’s family.
Additionally, the UAE ambassador expressed his country’s readiness to play a role in humanitarian institutions and called such developments beneficial for everyone.
The United Kingdom has announced an additional £3 million (AFN 257 million) in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, aimed at supporting people affected by natural disasters and other shocks.
Richard Lindsay, in a post on X, said the funding will be used to provide essential nutrition supplies and related support to vulnerable populations.
The new allocation brings the UK’s total bilateral assistance to Afghanistan for the current financial year to £154 million (AFN 13.18 billion).
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