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About 80 Afghan interpreters flown to safety in Australia
About 80 Afghan interpreters and their families have arrived in Australia on commercial flights after being granted a safe haven for their work alongside Australian troops in Afghanistan.
According to the Guardian Australia, this comes after 41 interpreters wrote to the government twice earlier this year pleading for urgent help.
It is understood most of the people listed on the letter are among those who have been able to escape the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.
One interpreter, Tariq Zia, who is in hotel quarantine in Melbourne said: “I am safe now [and] I am feeling well,” he told the Guardian.
“I am alone and still concerned about my [extended] family [in Afghanistan].”
Nawidullah Aarman told the Guardian he worked with coalition forces as an interpreter for almost a decade in hostile environments across Afghanistan assisting special forces elements. He left Kabul on Friday and is expected to touch down in Australia on Saturday evening after a stopover in Dubai.
“We will not believe it until we are boarded in the plane,” he said. “We have some colleagues that received their visas and waited for their flight for a long time.”
The home affairs department said that since 15 April about 180 people in Afghanistan had been granted a visa under the Afghan locally engaged employees (LEE) program, including family members, the Guardian reported.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US special representative for Afghanistan, has questioned Pakistan’s commitment to the welfare of the Afghan people, citing Islamabad’s policies over the past three decades.
Khalilzad said in a post on X that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif advocated for the rights of Afghan women during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday.
Sharif said: “Fundamental rights of the Afghan people — especially women and girls — must be respected.”
Responding to the remarks, Khalilzad said Pakistan’s policies over the past 30 years raise questions about Sharif’s commitment to Afghan welfare.
He cited Pakistan’s support for militant groups against US forces and what he described as the poor treatment of Afghan refugees as examples.
Khalilzad also said Afghanistan and Pakistan need and should have much better relations, adding that “a reset is necessary.”
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Rabab Fatima, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X that Misri underscored the need to keep addressing the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people as a priority.
Misri also appreciated the role of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and reaffirmed India’s continued cooperation with the United Nations on Afghanistan.
The meeting comes as Afghanistan continues to face humanitarian and economic challenges, with international agencies warning of significant needs among the Afghan population.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi has called for pragmatic and coordinated international engagement with Afghanistan, saying the country’s long-term stability is closely linked to the security and sustainable development of Central Asia.
Speaking during the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, Tileuberdi said humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan remains essential but alone cannot break the cycle of poverty, displacement and dependency.
He said Kazakhstan supports a “pragmatic, coordinated and step-by-step” approach to international engagement with Afghanistan, with the United Nations playing a central role.
Tileuberdi also said Kazakhstan is working with the UN to operationalize the United Nations Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty.
He said the success of the centre should be measured by the results and assistance it delivers to the region.
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