Albares travels to Pakistan to seek safe routes for the evacuation of Afghans

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has travelled to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, to continue looking for "safe routes" in order to continue working on the evacuation of Afghan collaborators from Spain to the neighbouring country.

According to Europa Press, the minister is expected to meet with the Prime Minister, Imran Khan, and his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmud Qureshi, as well as with the Chief of the General Staff, with whom he intends to hold talks on the future situation that Afghanistan faces with the current Taliban "government".

The minister said in a video released by the foreign ministry from Islamabad that his trip was to "see first-hand with one of the key regional players how the crisis in Afghanistan is evolving. My presence here is further proof of Spain's commitment to the Afghan people and to our partners".

Albares explained that the purpose of the trip "is to find safe ways for our Afghan collaborators to leave, with the aim of leaving no one behind". Likewise, the minister has conveyed words of "confidence" to the Pakistani authorities, since the government intends for the embassy in Islamabad to attend to the Afghan collaborators "quickly". 

On 27 August last year, the Spanish government declared the evacuation of the Spanish and Afghan collaborators completed, one day after the double attack that took place in the vicinity of Kabul airport and days before the official withdrawal of US troops.

From the first moment the evacuation was officially completed, the Spanish government emphasised that "new ways" would be sought to continue with the evacuation procedure for those Afghans who helped the Spanish troops and the embassy itself over the last 20 years. However, the transfer of Albares to Pakistan has been kept "top secret" until the last moment due to security concerns.

Likewise, no exact figure has been given to estimate how many Afghans will be able to leave the country under the Spanish government's umbrella.