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‘Almost impossible to evacuate from Afghanistan as many people as we want to’
During a campaign stop in Victoria in British Columbia in the build-up to snap polls in September, the Canadian PM said the evacuation process is “very difficult”
As Canada’s first rescue aircraft since the arrival of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan headed for the Kabul airport, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rued that it’s “almost impossible” to evacuate as many people as his government wants to.
During a campaign stop in Victoria in British Columbia in the build-up to snap polls in September, Trudeau said the evacuation process is “very difficult”.
“We will get some, certainly, but to get many people out, as many as we’d want, is going to be almost impossible in the coming weeks,” the Canadian PM told reporters.
Canada is targeting to bring in 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan under a special immigration programme. But those figures don’t appear to be attainable at this time, as Trudeau pointed out.
“Unless the Taliban shift their posture significantly, which is something the international community and Canada are working on, it is going to be very, very difficult to get many people out,” he said.
Canada has said that its focus is on rescuing vulnerable Afghans, including Hindu and Sikh minorities, women, human rights activists and those from the LGBTQ community.
At the outset, however, it is looking at bringing out those considered potential targets of Taliban reprisal, such as interpreters and personnel who supported Canada’s mission in Afghanistan.
According to the outlet Globe and Mail, Canada’s first rescue aircraft, a CC-177 Globemaster, left from an airbase in Kuwait for Kabul on Friday.
