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KABUL: Amid security turmoil and political hue and cry, the Wall Street Journal reports that US officials have stepped up work on a possible evacuation of the US embassy in Kabul due to fears that security situation could deteriorate, which could endanger the lives of survivors, diplomats and other Afghans.
According to the American newspaper, with the evacuation of the US embassy in Kabul, not only the embassy staff, but also thousands of other Americans may be evacuated from Afghanistan.
However, US officials have stressed that there is no urgent need to evacuate the embassy and that the plan has not yet been finalized, but “the urgency remains”. U.S. officials say the military is working with the State Department to implement the plan.
“This is not a definite plan, it is a possibility,” the Wall Street Journal quoted a US official.
US officials have said that although details of the plan are classified, the United States is deploying helicopters and their crews at Kabul airport to use the equipment as part of an evacuation plan.
The United States has announced the possible embassy evacuation, after President Ghani’s visit to Washington last week, when senior US officials assured him of a continued support for Afghanistan.
During a meeting with Ghani, US President Joe Biden stressed that the withdrawal of US troops does not mean the end of cooperation and friendly relations between the two countries, but that the US will continue to provide assistance to Afghanistan in various fields.
The war in Afghanistan has intensified since May when President Biden announced the withdrawal. The Taliban have carried out unprecedented attacks on district centers and captured as many as 80 districts. Some of these districts have been recaptured from the Taliban by security and defense forces with the support of pro-government militias.
This is as US intelligence agencies had said the Afghan government could collapse in six months after the withdrawal of US troops.
The last contingent of US troops left Bagram military base in Parwan on Friday.
