While avoiding publicly criticising Biden,Johnson made clear he wanted the US troops to stay beyond the end of the month.
“You’ve heard what the President of the United States has had to say,you’ve heard what the Taliban have said,” he said. “I think you’ve got to understand the context in which we’re doing this. We’re confident we can get thousands more out,but the situation at the airport is not getting any better.”
Evacuees walk towards their flight at Kabul airport.Credit:US Marine Corps
Earlier in the day UK Defence Minister Ben Wallace said:“We want to stay longer if it is possible to do so. The two people with the biggest vote in the room are the US ... and the Taliban.”
He added that “the scale of the challenge means that not everyone will get out”.
“We are ruthlessly prioritising people,” he told the BBC.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told reporters in Kabul his group would accept “no extensions” to the evacuation deadline.
“August 31 is the time given and after that it’s something that is against the agreement,” Mujahid told a press conference.
“All people should be removed prior to that date. After that we do not allow them,it will not be allowed in our country,we will take a different stance.”
Mujahid also said the Taliban would bar Afghans from accessing roads leading to the airport,while allowing foreigners to pass through,to prevent large crowds outside the walls. It was not immediately clear if they would stop Afghans who are escorted by foreigners or in the process of being evacuated by Western nations.
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The Taliban would take over security at the airport after the withdrawal,Mujahid said. It’s unclear when commercial flights would resume,putting pressure on the current evacuation efforts to get as many people out as possible.
The Washington Post revealed that CIA Director William Burns had secretly travelled into Kabul on Tuesday (AEST) to meet with the Taliban’s top political leader,Abdul Ghani Baradar,to discuss the withdrawal.
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff,a Democrat,said it was “very unlikely” the US would be able to evacuate all Americans and Afghan allies by the deadline.
“It’s hard for me to imagine all of that can be accomplished between now and the end of the month,” Schiff said.
Democratic congressman Jason Crow,who served as a military officer in Afghanistan and Iraq,was more definitive,saying it would be impossible to evacuate all Americans and allies in just a week.
“The deadline must be extended,” he said.
These demands came even as the US continued to dramatically increase the pace of negotiations. The White House said that approximately 21,600 people had been evacuated over the previous 24 hours,up from around 2000 a day late last week.
This was the highest daily figure since the evacuations began.
The US has evacuated about 58,700 people from Kabul since August 14,according to the White House.