U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the evacuation of Afghanistan in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Washington, D.C., U.S., August 22, 2021. /Reuters
The United States has an "unwavering commitment" to get U.S. citizens and at-risk Afghans out of Afghanistan to safety, said President Joe Biden on Sunday as polls show a majority of respondents disapproved of Biden's handling of the crisis in Afghanistan.
"Let me be clear, the evacuation of thousands from Kabul is going to be hard and painful" and would have been "no matter when it began," Biden said during a briefing at the White House.
Asked by a reporter whether the U.S. would extend an August 31 deadline for evacuations, Biden said, "Our hope is we will not have to extend but there are going to be discussions I suspect on how far along we are in the process."
The U.S. on Sunday ordered six commercial airlines and the Pentagon has called up 18 civilian aircraft to step up the pace of departures of Americans and at-risk Afghans from Kabul.
However, an NBC News poll showed Biden's approval rating standing at 49 percent, compared to 48 percent disapproval, with a majority of respondents disapproving of Biden's handling of the Afghan crisis and only 25 percent approving.
The poll was conducted among 1,000 U.S. adults from 14 to 17 this month.
Meanwhile, countries continued their evacuation operations in Afghanistan. Belgium on Sunday evacuated 250 people from Afghanistan to Pakistan's Islamabad, said Minister of Defense Ludivine Dedonder. Turkey was able to help 357 citizens return to Istanbul, Anadolu news agency said.
A U.S. soldier provides ready-to-eat meals to a child during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, August 21, 2021. /Reuters
Possible sanctions on Taliban
Britain plans to push world leaders to consider new sanctions on the Taliban when the G7 group of advanced economies meet on Tuesday to discuss Afghanistan, Reuters reported, citing sources seeking anonymity.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who currently leads the group that also includes the United States, Italy, France, Germany, Japan and Canada, called on Sunday for the virtual meeting.
Asked if he would support Britain's push for sanctions if Taliban committed abuses, Biden said, "The answer is yes. It depends on the conduct."
Biden, under fire at home and abroad for his handling of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, last week said G7 leaders would work out a joint approach to Taliban, and has already held bilateral talks with Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
The fate of the Afghan economy will be determined by decisions that the Biden administration and other countries must make on whether to recognize the Taliban as a legitimate government.
In the meantime, the United States and the international community are already shutting the flow of money, leaving Afghanistan in the stranglehold of sanctions that were designed to cut the Taliban off from the global financial system.
People are seen on streets after Taliban takeover in Herat City, Afghanistan, August 22, 2021. /Getty
Political uncertainty in Afghanistan
Ahmad Massoud, the son of former anti-Taliban leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, said he will not surrender areas under his control to the Taliban, Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV channel cited him as saying on Sunday.
"We want to make the Taliban realize that the only way forward is through negotiation," he told Reuters by telephone from his stronghold in the Panjshir valley northwest of Kabul, where he has gathered forces made up of remnants of regular army units and special forces as well as local militia fighters.
"We do not want a war to break out," he said.
In the only confirmed fighting since the fall of Kabul on Sunday, anti-Taliban forces took back three districts in the northern province of Baghlan, bordering Panjshir last week.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Sunday that talks on the formation of a new government with Afghan political leaders are underway and that a new government will be announced in the near future.