• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Trending:
  • Kashmir
  • Elections
Thursday, July 17, 2025

Daily Times

Your right to know

  • HOME
  • Latest
  • Iran-Israel Tensions
  • Pakistan
    • Balochistan
    • Gilgit Baltistan
    • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
    • Punjab
    • Sindh
  • World
  • Editorials & Opinions
    • Editorials
    • Op-Eds
    • Commentary / Insight
    • Perspectives
    • Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Featured
    • Blogs
      • Pakistan
      • World
      • Ramblings
      • Lifestyle
      • Culture
      • Sports
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • E-PAPER
    • Lahore
    • Islamabad
    • Karachi

AFP

Biden hopeful for ending Afghan airlift on time, orders airlines’ help

President Joe Biden on Sunday said he still hopes to complete the “heartbreaking” evacuation from Afghanistan by the end of the month but warned of potential terrorist attacks against the crowded Kabul airport.

As the numbers of evacuees steadily rose, despite a volatile situation on the ground and enormous logistical difficulties, Biden said he was aiming to complete the task by August 31, the date agreed with the Taliban. Speaking in the White House, he said his “hope is we will not have to extend.”

“We’ll see what we can do,” he added, when asked by reporters what his reply was to foreign leaders asking for more time. The White House said late Sunday that since last weekend, when the Taliban completed their victorious sweep across Afghanistan by capturing Kabul from the fleeing national government, the US “has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 30,300 people on military and coalition flights.”

Biden acknowledged the searing scenes of Afghans crowding the airport in desperation to escape the militants but said this had to be accepted, given the situation.

“There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss and heartbreaking images you see,” he said.

Underlining why US officials are keen to complete the mission as soon as possible, Biden warned that Islamic State extremists known as ISIS-K pose a constant threat.

“We know that terrorists may seek to exploit the situation,” he said. “It’s still a dangerous operation.”

Civilian aircraft join flights: In an effort to ramp up the airlift, the US government ordered six airlines — American Airlines, Atlas, Delta, Omni, Hawaiian and United — to provide 18 passenger planes, supplementing an armada of Air Force cargo planes. The rarely invoked Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) order will increase the flow of people once they get out of Afghanistan to US bases in Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates and are then flown on to third countries in a rapidly expanding global operation. The civilian airliners will not be required to fly to Kabul itself.

Thousands of US troops have been flown in to secure the Afghan capital’s airport, while the Taliban control the surrounding city. The guerrilla army took over the country so rapidly that the US-led international forces previously propping up the now defunct Afghan national government were caught by surprise — and apparently unprepared to evacuate foreign nationals and Afghan allies. Biden has faced a torrent of criticism. However, in his remarks from the White House he again defended what he said had been a hard but necessary decision to order the immediate evacuation of Americans, even at the short-term cost of chaos.

“At the end of the day, if we didn’t leave Afghanistan now, when would we?” he asked.

Access to airport questioned: Up to 15,000 Americans need to be removed from Afghanistan, according to Biden, who says the administration wants to get at least 50,000 Afghan allies and their family members out of the country.

There have been reports of the Taliban intimidating and beating people trying to reach the airport but Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the militants had largely been letting American passport holders through safely. Britain said Sunday that seven Afghans had died in the chaos near the airport, and the situation was further complicated on Saturday when the US government warned its citizens to stay away from the area because of “security threats.”

In the 12 hours to 3:00 pm Sunday (1900 GMT), eight US military flights evacuated around 1,700 people.

Filed Under: World

Submit a Comment




Primary Sidebar




Latest News

PTI warns: The movement peaks on August 5

PAF to showcase JF-17 at prestigious UK event

Emma Watson fined, license suspended for speeding

Lion cubs seized in wildlife sweep across Punjab

Pakistani mangoes shine in Doha with 600 maunds sold

Pakistan

PTI warns: The movement peaks on August 5

PAF to showcase JF-17 at prestigious UK event

Lion cubs seized in wildlife sweep across Punjab

Navy chief emphasizes readiness, tech at high-level conference

Fake domicile scandal rocks Sindh police recruitment

More Posts from this Category

Business

Rs4.66bn goes digital in eid cattle markets

Gold price falls Rs3,000 per tola in Pakistan

Punjab allocates Rs42bn for ‘apni chhat apna ghar’ program

PSX nears record highs amid moody’s buzz, then pulls back

Govt slashes sugar import after IMF warning and political pressure

More Posts from this Category

World

Gaza toll rises: 21 killed in aid stampede, 51 dead overall

Astronomers witness birth of a solar system

Rubio warns Israeli strikes could derail Syria peace efforts

More Posts from this Category




Footer

Home
Lead Stories
Latest News
Editor’s Picks

Culture
Life & Style
Featured
Videos

Editorials
OP-EDS
Commentary
Advertise

Cartoons
Letters
Blogs
Privacy Policy

Contact
Company’s Financials
Investor Information
Terms & Conditions

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Youtube

© 2025 Daily Times. All rights reserved.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.