The Taliban is stopping a number of flights from taking off from the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, CBS News reports.
An NGO in Afghanistan said two planes have been ready to evacuate 600 to 1,200 individuals, including 19 American citizens and two permanent residents, for the past six days while the U.S. government and Taliban continue to talk.
The White House and State Department have maintained that they hold leverage over the Taliban, which is able to make sure the group cooperates and continues to permit folks to depart Afghanistan, however a senior congressional source told CBS News that the Taliban is basically holding the planes “hostage” so they can “get more out of the Americans.”
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, agrees. He informed Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday that he is concerned that U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad will come away from the talks recommending that the Biden administration acknowledge the Taliban as the legitimate government in Afghanistan. There aren’t any indications that would be the case, nonetheless.
Source: The Taliban reportedly won’t let planes leave Afghanistan until ’they get more out of the Americans’
