NATO pledges to speed up Afghan evacuations

KABUL, Afghanistan－More than 18,000 people have been flown out of Kabul since the Taliban took over the Afghan capital, said a NATO official on Friday, pledging to redouble evacuation efforts as criticism of the West's handling of the crisis mounts.

This came as G7 foreign ministers urged the Taliban to provide safe passage for those trying to flee Kabul.

In the group's first formal statement on the crisis, G7 ministers called for the Taliban to guarantee safe passage to foreign nationals and Afghans wanting to leave, according to Britain's foreign office.

They discussed the importance of the international community providing safe and legal resettlement routes, the statement said.

The meeting was chaired by British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is under fire at home for reportedly being on holiday and "unavailable" to make a phone call to his Afghan counterpart as the crisis unfolded. British media reported that the country's spy chiefs may face a grilling over intelligence failings.

Since Aug 14, the United States has airlifted nearly 7,000 people out of Afghanistan as the Taliban appear to be cooperating with evacuation efforts, said a senior general on Thursday.

Major General Hank Taylor said the pace of evacuations has accelerated at the US military-controlled airport despite reports of the Taliban continuing to impede people trying to enter the airport gates.

The US has now more than 5,200 troops to secure the airport and the capacity to take as many as 9,000 people out every 24 hours.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the Taliban appeared to be cooperating to allow Afghan nationals who have registered for US special immigrant visas to get to the airport gate. "We have indications this morning that the process is working," Kirby said.

'Laser focused'

The Pentagon said the Taliban were not interfering with the airlift. "We have not experienced any security incidents, nor interference,"Taylor said.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview with NBC News that the US was "laser focused" on "the potential for a terrorist attack" by a group such as the Islamic State during the evacuation.

Thousands of people were still thronging the airport, said the NATO official who declined to be identified to Reuters, even though the Taliban have urged people without legal travel documents to go home.

The Taliban called on imams to urge for unity when they hold their first Friday prayers since the group seized control of Afghanistan.

Since seizing Kabul on Sunday, the Taliban have presented a more moderate face, saying that they want peace. They also said they will not take revenge against old enemies and will respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law.

Criticism of NATO and other Western powers has mounted as images of the chaos and desperation are shared around the world.

In one scene captured on social media, a small girl was hoisted over the airport's perimeter wall and handed to a US soldier.

US President Joe Biden is set to speak about the evacuation efforts on Friday afternoon local time, having faced a torrent of criticism for his handling of the troop withdrawal, which was negotiated by the previous US administration.

As Taliban offensives picked up and the US neared its own Aug 31 deadline for withdrawal from the country after 20 years of war, the US has moved nearly 14,000 people out of the country since the end of July.

Kirby said the US forces will continue to focus on getting the airlift completed by Aug 31.

But on Wednesday, Biden allowed that US troops could stay longer if necessary for the evacuations.

Officials declined to say if the Taliban were putting pressure on the Americans to leave by the end of the month.