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UK OFFICIALS AND the Taliban are in talks over how to secure “safe passage” out of Afghanistan for British nationals and Afghan allies.
Downing Street confirmed Sir Simon Gass, the Prime Minister’s special representative for Afghan transition, has travelled to Qatar and is meeting with “senior Taliban representatives” to stress the importance of allowing people to leave Afghanistan.
The news emerged as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announced 15 crisis response specialists are being deployed to Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to assist British diplomats in their work to allow people to escape Afghanistan over land borders and reach the UK.
The officials are expected to arrive within the next 48 hours, with the focus on helping UK nationals, interpreters and other Afghans who were employed by the UK, and those Afghans judged most at risk.
Elsewhere, the Home Office said Afghans who worked with the British government and military will be able to move to the UK permanently.
Former Afghan staff and their family members eligible for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap), which prioritises relocation to the UK for current or former locally employed staff who have been assessed to be under serious threat to life, will be given immediate indefinite leave to remain as opposed to only five years’ temporary residency as previously permitted.
It is part of the UK Government’s Operation Warm Welcome, which is designed to help Afghans rebuild their lives in the UK.
More than 8,000 Arap claimants were among the 15,000-plus people evacuated by the UK since 13 August.
Separate efforts are continuing to bring Irish people home from Afghanistan. Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has asked the dozens of Irish citizens there to “await guidance from a consular team”.
‘Full confidence’
The number of UK nationals left behind in Afghanistan is in the “low hundreds”, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Tuesday.
He was unable to give a “definitive” figure on how many Afghans the UK had failed to airlift to safety after the Taliban seized power as the US withdrew its final troops following a 20-year mission.
But in a further sign of the swift power shift in the region, Downing Street confirmed the talks with the Taliban.
A No 10 spokesman said: “The Prime Minister’s special representative for Afghan transition, Simon Gass, has travelled to Doha and is meeting with senior Taliban representatives to underline the importance of safe passage out of Afghanistan for British nationals, and those Afghans who have worked with us over the past 20 years.”
MI6 chief Richard Moore held talks with the Pakistan military on Afghanistan in recent days, according to media reports in Pakistan.
The Daily Telegraph also reported secret discussions have taken place between senior British intelligence officials and the Taliban in Kabul in the past fortnight.
The newspaper said the aim of the talks was to seek assurances that Afghanistan will not be used to launch terrorist attacks on the west.
On the deployment of three teams to bolster efforts to help people cross the Afghan border, Raab said: “The UK evacuated over 15,000 people from Afghanistan over the past fortnight, but we know not everyone who wanted to leave and were eligible for UK support could.
“We will stand by them, and we’re working with partners in neighbouring countries to support onward travel to the UK.
“These latest rapid deployment teams will bolster those efforts and reinforce our embassy teams on the ground to help those in need.”
Raab will also face MPs today to discuss the Government’s handling of the Afghanistan crisis.
With doubts about his future as Foreign Secretary, No 10 insisted Prime Minister Boris Johnson has “full confidence” in Raab.
Some of the ire was for remaining in holiday in Crete as the Taliban was seizing back control of Afghanistan.
Raab will be quizzed by the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, with shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy insisting her counterpart has questions to answer on “much more than the chaos of the last two weeks”.
She said: “This has been the biggest foreign policy failing in a generation.
“The Foreign Secretary has serious questions to answer when he appears before the Foreign Affairs Committee.”
Nandy added: “The Foreign Secretary had 18 months to prepare but was missing in action.
“As a result, on his watch Britain has become weaker in the world and faces greater risks from terrorism.”
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Will they take Leap card ?!!
@Justin McCarthy: yes they will.
They will in me hoop.
Great reinstatement of a piece if Dublin City history as opposed to the removal of it Clerys etc
@Alan foggorty: went down Moore Street last time I was in Ireland and was horrified , it has lost it vibe, loads of ethnic/Chinese cheap shops abound. Very sad.
@Alan foggorty:
I completely agree !
We have lost our identity , our heritage , our independence , our Nationalism !
Thank God for Michael D who represents everything Irish about us.
@Alan foggorty: what the hell has any of this got to do with migrants? We are buckling under the pressure of our own classes of perpetual wasters and professional protesters and professional dole collectors. The migrants are not the problem.
@Pinkady: I still have my identity, heritage etc. Perhaps you should ask why you have lost yours?
@Alan foggorty:
Everything is gone except the revenue basher cigarette sellers.
@Ronan Fahy: Last week it was migrants are all benefit spongers, this week it’s bloody migrants and their shops.
@Barra O Brien: Schrodinger’s Immigrant!
@Alan foggorty: Ireland of old is long gone thank God. My great grandmother ended up in Coles Lane, off Moore St, an immigrant from Coleraine, during the original NI troubles, after the 1918 election. She sold 2nd hand clothing on Moore St, lived in a hovel, & only died in the early 1950s.
Stop with the false nostalgia crap, & stop blaming migrants, we are the most travelled nation on the planet. Give the racism a break.
@John Murphy: Schrodinger’s with an Einstein Rosen multiverse twist, whatever box they put the immigrants in, they are somehow still to blame…
@Alan foggorty:
I suppose by your logic then that Irish people should be stopped moving to other countries too?
Why not use the entire quay and run fast boats from say Heuston Station with a stop around O’Connell Bridge and a second at the IFSC? This could be used to reduce the number of buses that need to enter the city and it could potentially be a lot faster.
@Wreck Tangle: Tidal range
@Wreck Tangle: you will bang your head
Excellent idea, hope it gets all the support required.
My Da took me on the last one back in 84.
“ Don’t pay the ferryman till he gets you to the other side”
@Al Fresco: get your coat pal
@Jack: Did he manage to pull you just with that line? Jaysus, you’re an easy one!
Nice idea for tourists.
Imo an overhead suspension cable car would attract many more
bring us back a parrot” they used to shout at tgem as they passing by
Can a person on old age pension use their free bus pass.
Will there be a customs
@FlopFlipU:
Yes, they’ll probably wave goodbye!
@FlopFlipU: no customs but passports will be checked
@Brendan Boland: are there now north side and south side passports!!!!!?
There’s no reference in this article to the Liffey Ferry (www.liffeyferry.com) that ran for two years until 11th December 2009. I knew it existed but just had to google “Liffey ferry” to find that site. Why couldn’t journalists do the same?
Love the historical sentiment but is this really necessary with the east link and the samuel beckett bridge now? Can’t see this being viable as a full time, 12 hour a day business? Great for tourists but there’s no way regular folk will use this for their work commute.
@JC: “there’s no way regular folk will use this for their work commute.”
Link?
@Shakka1244: so all the people who use the Thames clippers to commute are not ordinary folk? I don’t know what distance the ferry in question goes, but it sounds to me that using the wate4ways for a commute is far better than traffic jams …
@Shakka1244: You want a link…. to my opinion? It’s written right there. I didn’t say anything about data or studies, just pointed out there’s a bridge either side of proposed ferry route. Moron!
@helen walsh: This ferry will save you approx 10 mins walk or 2-5 mins by car or bicycle, I’m not familiar with the clipper service or its route but I know the Thames is a much longer and wider river. There is also a lot more people living in central London than Dublin obviously.
A good news story. Can we have more of these please and a bit less Brexit?
Why not go up to Oconnell St?
There are a few of the old ferrys on the Shannon.
They are converted to cruisers.
It will be a great addition to transport in the area also a great tourist attraction. Boston has a simular service but more tourist driven. Great job Dublin
I used to catch it to work at times, the ferryman would grumble when I brought my bike. It was great when there was a headwind on the quays.
Well done Richie Saunders!
My grandad lived in George Reynolds house and bath ave used the ferry to go to work on the docks
Any images of the vessel to be used or are they using the same one they used 35 years ago. Only joking. But are there any images of proposed vessel?
Great idea my grand father was a docker so enjoyed seeing those photod
Sounds terrific
I once got a river taxi from the point to close to o Connell bridge after an oasis concert about 20 years ago..I presumed he was there after most concerts…I’m sure it wasn’t legal but it was incredibly convenient because that’s a bitch of a walk.Always wondered why it wasn’t made a regular thing.
Nice idea but doesn’t cover enough distance to be really attractive. Small capacity too. . For most, cycling or walking will be quicker. Novelty value. €1 better value
Duty free ?
Bad phrase with you in a jiffy has a totaly different meaning in around Liverpool . Jiffy is a paper hankie
@Andrew Byrne: yea but you’re in Dublin
Two steps forward.
Will be taking a trip on that again.
Not sure the uber rich hipsters of these areas will actually give a toss
I used the Liffey ferry when I was a young kid . Used to cost 3d (trupence)
That was back in 1966 or thereabouts
Do the Dubs every stop complaining
Will all passengers be required to wear lifebelts? The Insurance cost must be enormous.
Puts me out of a job
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