Britain “is not walking away” from Afghanistan, the prime minister told Parliament on Thursday, as he confirmed that nearly all UK troops had left the country.
In a statement to the House of Commons, Boris Johnson promised that Britain would try to ensure stability in Afghanistan but was under "no illusions about the perils of today's situation and what may lie ahead”.
As the last of the UK’s 750 troops depart the country, alongside US and other Nato forces, the Taliban are reported to be making widespread gains.
Mr Johnson was told that serious questions remained over the future stability of Afghanistan that could see a regrowth of terrorism posing a threat to the wider world.
“We simply cannot wash our hands, or walk away”, said Angela Rayner, MP, the opposition's deputy leader. “It's hard to see a future without bloodier conflict and wider Taliban control. Already, they are on the brink of gaining control of provincial capitals and Afghan security forces are at risk of being overwhelmed.”
Gen Nick Carter, the head of the military, gave a bleak briefing on the outlook, saying news of the Taliban advance was "pretty grim". The general said it was "fair to say the Taliban now hold nearly 50 per cent of the rural districts in Afghanistan”, but not any cities. While noting the Afghan army was still resisting the group's spread he warned it would face more challenges when it would “no longer have access to [Nato] air power”.
Mr Johnson cautioned against suggestions of a Taliban takeover, saying this was potentially overstated. “I don't believe that the Taliban are guaranteed the kind of victory that you sometimes read about, we are not walking away”, he said.
He added that the British Embassy would remain and that is was inevitable that the Taliban would be accepted into government in any long-term settlement.
He also hinted at some future special forces involvement and air force strikes to keep the terrorists at bay. “We will of course continue to work alongside our Afghan partners, against the terrorist threat.”
Since Britain’s forces entered Afghanistan alongside the Americans shortly after the Al Qaeda September 11 atrocities in 2001 it had managed to achieve a great deal in stabilising the country, Mr Johnson said. “In Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, virtually no girls attended school. Today, 3.6 million girls are going to school in Afghanistan, seizing their chance to escape from illiteracy and poverty.”
He added that five million refugees have returned to Afghanistan, aided by the clearance of 8.4 million landmines that has helped restore 340,000 acres of land.
More than 150,000 British troops had served on operations over the last 20 years, mostly in Helmand, and 457 had been killed.
However, they could not remain there indefinitely. “We cannot stray from the hard reality of the situation today,” Mr Johnson said. “The international military presence in Afghanistan was never intended to be permanent. We and our Nato allies were always going to withdraw our forces. The only question was when, and there could never be a perfect moment.”
He said it would require a united regional effort for peace, with countries such as Pakistan taking a leading role. “It will take the combined efforts of many nations, including Afghanistan's neighbours, to help the Afghan people to build that future”, he said.
Rebuilding Afghanistan after decades of war would be “a generational undertaking”, but Britain would do everything it could "to support a lasting peace settlement within Afghanistan”.
Britain would also spend £100 million ($138m) on supporting the Afghan government and a further £58m on its security forces this year, he said.
'Joker'
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix
Rating: Five out of five stars
More on Quran memorisation:
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The biog
Family: wife, four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren
Reads: Newspapers, historical, religious books and biographies
Education: High school in Thatta, a city now in Pakistan
Regrets: Not completing college in Karachi when universities were shut down following protests by freedom fighters for the British to quit India
Happiness: Work on creative ideas, you will also need ideals to make people happy
ON%20TRACK
%3Cp%3EThe%20Dubai%20Metaverse%20Assembly%20will%20host%20three%20main%20tracks%3A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEducate%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Consists%20of%20more%20than%2010%20in-depth%20sessions%20on%20the%20metaverse%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInspire%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Will%20showcase%20use%20cases%20of%20the%20metaverse%20in%20tourism%2C%20logistics%2C%20retail%2C%20education%20and%20health%20care%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EContribute%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Workshops%20for%20metaverse%20foresight%20and%20use-case%20reviews%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20EduPloyment%3Cbr%3EDate%20started%3A%20March%202020%3Cbr%3ECo-Founders%3A%20Mazen%20Omair%20and%20Rana%20Batterjee%3Cbr%3EBase%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Recruitment%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2030%20employees%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20Pre-Seed%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Angel%20investors%20(investment%20amount%20undisclosed)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
LAST 16
SEEDS
Liverpool, Manchester City, Barcelona, Paris St-Germain, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Valencia, Juventus
PLUS
Real Madrid, Tottenham, Atalanta, Atletico Madrid, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund, Lyon, Chelsea
Story%20behind%20the%20UAE%20flag
%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20flag%20was%20first%20unveiled%20on%20December%202%2C%201971%2C%20the%20day%20the%20UAE%20was%20formed.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIt%20was%20designed%20by%20Abdullah%20Mohammed%20Al%20Maainah%2C%2019%2C%20an%20Emirati%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMr%20Al%20Maainah%20said%20in%20an%20interview%20with%20%3Cem%3EThe%20National%3C%2Fem%3E%20in%202011%20he%20chose%20the%20colours%20for%20local%20reasons.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20black%20represents%20the%20oil%20riches%20that%20transformed%20the%20UAE%2C%20green%20stands%20for%20fertility%20and%20the%20red%20and%20white%20colours%20were%20drawn%20from%20those%20found%20in%20existing%20emirate%20flags.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
List of UAE medal winners
Gold
Faisal Al Ketbi (Open weight and 94kg)
Talib Al Kirbi (69kg)
Omar Al Fadhli (56kg)
Silver
Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Khalfan Belhol (85kg)
Zayed Al Mansoori (62kg)
Mouza Al Shamsi (49kg women)
Bronze
Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi (Open and 94kg)
Saood Al Hammadi (77kg)
Said Al Mazroui (62kg)
Obaid Al Nuaimi (56kg)
Bashayer Al Matrooshi (62kg women)
Reem Abdulkareem (45kg women)
MATCH INFO
Argentina 47 (Tries: Sanchez, Tuculet (2), Mallia (2), De La Fuente, Bertranou; Cons: Sanchez 5, Urdapilleta)
United States 17 (Tries: Scully (2), Lasike; Cons: MacGinty)
'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH RESULT
Liverpool 4 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Liverpool: Salah (26'), Lovren (40'), Solanke (53'), Robertson (85')
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
'I Want You Back'
Director:Jason Orley
Stars:Jenny Slate, Charlie Day
Rating:4/5
Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification
Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
