Afghanistan

Daily update – UK considers Afghan resettlement scheme

Politics Live

1:34pm – Raab and Patel under fire as UK prepares to announce Afghan-asylum scheme

Raab and Patel under fire as UK prepares to announce Afghan-asylum scheme

12:49pm –  ‘This is on our watch’

Tobias Ellwood, the chair of the defence committee, has warned the government over not making excuses on taking in Afghan refugees. Ellwood told the BBC: “This fall of a state is on our watch.”

10:30am – Liberal DemoRates

Liberal DemocRates

9:30am – Female journalists return in Afghanistan

TOLOnews is one of Afghanistan’s biggest media networks. Today, the head of news (Miraqa Popal) has tweeted this picture showing their female anchors returning to work. One of the biggest questions marks currently hanging over Afghanistan is how the Taliban will treat women.

Previously, the regime imposed heavy restrictions on women’s rights and freedoms, but spokesmen have insisted that women’s rights will be respected in the country. There are conflicting reports coming out of Afghanistan about the validity of these claims on the ground.

8:30am – Good morning

The UK political establishment, along with. The USA is standing alone as Joe Biden doubled down on his rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan. The US president reiterated that he “stands squarely behind” his decision and shifted the blame onto Afghanistan’s toppled government, suggesting they were “not willing to fight for themselves”.

Whilst UK-USA ties begin to show significant stress, attention now diverts to the UK response and what the government is going to do in putting place an asylum scheme for Afghanistan nationals in need.

As the picture below shows, the situation in Kabul over the past few days has been shocking and demoralising in equal measure.

Key headlines

  • UK political establishment reels at Biden-Afghan speech
  • Govt under pressure to announce Afghan resettlement scheme
  • Raab and Patel under heavy criticism over crisis conduct

Newspaper roundup

  • Daily Mail – “Biden: It’s Afghans’ own fault”.
  • Daily Mirror – “Chaos in Kabul: Desperate”.
  • Financial Times – “Chaos engulfs Kabul airport amid panic to flee Taliban rule”
  • i – “No way out”
  • Daily Telegraph – “Biden defends America’s flight”
  • Guardian – “Chaos in Kabul as thousands struggle to flee the Taliban”
  • Times – “Race to escape Kabul carnage”