MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th August, 2021) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the suicide attacks in Kabul, which killed two Brits and a child of a British national, showed how urgent it was for evacuations to conclude.
"I think what their loss really underlines is the urgency of getting on and concluding Operation Pitting," he said.
The United States said it would shut down the airlift from Afghanistan by August 31, giving the rest of the allies a tight timeline.
Johnson admitted that some people might be left behind but he vowed that his government would "shift heaven and earth" to help them get out.
"The crucial thing is that the Taliban authorities, the new government, however it is composed, have got to understand that if they want to have engagement with the West... then safe passage for those is absolutely paramount," he added.
The Taliban (designated terrorist by the UN and Russia) said they would not extend the evacuation deadline. The United States and Germany promised to engage with the militants to make sure that land routes out of Afghanistan remained open.
