British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that there are still 311 Afghan nationals in Afghanistan eligible for resettlement in the UK. He said he would do everything in his power to evacuate them.

This is the first time that the British government has determined exactly how many legitimate Afghans failed to evacuate during the operation that ended last weekend in August. Johnson added that of those 311 people, 192 responded to the attempt to contact the British authorities.

At the first post-summer House of Commons meeting, Johnson assured MPs that the government’s commitments to Afghans who helped Britain, despite the withdrawal of troops by the end of August, would remain “alive”. He said Britain would put economic and diplomatic pressure on the Taliban to ensure that those entitled to the evacuees could leave the country safely. “We will do everything we can to provide these people with the safe passage they deserve,” he said.

During the two-week evacuation of Kabul airport, British forces removed more than 15,000 people. people, including more than 5,000 British nationals, more than 8,000 Afghan collaborators, their families, and nationals of 36 other countries.

Johnson also informed that not only Afghan partners who were evacuated to the UK would be given the right to permanent residence, but also Afghans displaced in the following years under a separate programme. Great Britain pledged to accept 20,000. People from Afghanistan, including particularly women, children, ethnic and religious minorities, and other people who are particularly vulnerable to the Taliban. Of these, 5,000 are expected to go to Great Britain within the first year.

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From London Bartłomiej Niedziński (PAP)

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