US transport loading
© Master Sgt Donald R Allen/US Air Force via APAmerican transport loading at Kabul airport
Ninety countries have received "assurances" from the Taliban that anybody wishing to leave Afghanistan after tomorrow's deadline will be granted "safe passage" to do so, according to a joint statement signed by the countries yesterday.

British and French troops have already left Kabul and US military personnel will be out of Afghanistan before the August 31 date set by President Joe Biden, raising fears for thousands of Afghans eligible for evacuation still trapped.

The joint statement said:
"We have received assurances from the Taliban that all foreign nationals and any Afghan citizen with travel authorisation from our countries will be allowed to proceed in a safe and orderly manner to points of departure and travel outside the country.

"We have the clear expectation of and commitment from the Taliban that they can travel to our respective countries. We note the public statements of the Taliban confirming this."
Some Afghans however have said they gave little credence to such "assurances".

It came as President Emmanuel Macron said France and Britain would urge the UN to create a "safe zone" in the Afghan capital Kabul to protect humanitarian operations.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, France, Britain, Russia and China - will meet today to discuss the Afghanistan situation.

Qatar, which has good relations with the Taliban, may help provide further air bridges, Mr Macron added.

Asked how people can leave Afghanistan once the US withdraws, Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, pointed to Taliban assurances. He told ABC news:
"I'm not saying that we should trust the Taliban. I'm simply reporting what one of their senior leaders said."
The joint statement stands in stark contrast to what Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told reporters last week.
"We are not allowing the evacuation of Afghans any more and we are not happy with it either. Afghan doctors and academics should not leave this country, they should work in their own specialist areas. They should not go to other countries, to those Western countries."
Several Afghans attempting to flee the country across land borders have reported being stopped at Taliban checkpoints and grilled about any potential links to Western forces.

The British government is urging all Afghans wanting to escape to head to the nearest land border and has promised them that their their visa claims will still be processed in third countries.

But last night an Afghan, who worked as a translator with British contractors in Kabul, Helmand province and Mazar-i-Sharif, said he had been left stranded. Ahmad, who is also an English teacher and whose full name cannot be disclosed, received an email from the UK government last Sunday telling to come to be processed. However, speaking from a hiding place in Kabul, he said when he arrived he went to the wrong gate at the airport and was beaten by Taliban militants guarding the entrance.

During his third attempt on Thursday, he was caught up in the terror attack, which was just several hundred metres from where he was queuing.
"There are eligible people who have been left behind, but we shouldn't be forgotten. We shouldn't be left to be killed by these monsters."