Australia in discussions with US to extend Afghanistan withdrawal deadline

Australian citizens and Afghan nationals with visas were among hundreds of people evacuated from the Taliban-controlled Kabul overnight.

Australia has evacuated a further 650 people from Kabul, in what was the “biggest night” of the Afghanistan mission since it began.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed Australian and New Zealand citizens as well as Afghan nationals with visas were brought out of the capital city on five flights, including one New Zealand flight, overnight on Monday.

“We’ve uplifted a lot of Kiwis,” Mr Morrison said.

“They were with us last night, uplifting Aussies, and so we thank them for that.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said 650 people were evacuated from Kabul overnight. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Mr Morrison said Australia has now evacuated more than 1,700 people in total, as the Australian Defence Force dealt with “distressing and dangerous” conditions on the ground since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.

Mr Morrison said while August 31 remained the current deadline to withdraw from Afghanistan, he was not taking any chances.

“I’ve made no assumptions about the Taliban,” he said.

“We know their form.

“We’ve been going like we won’t be able to get another flight in the next day.

“So, we’ve been trying to make every flight as successful as possible.”

Mr Morrison said Australia would keep flying into Kabul for “as long as we can”.

“If that deadline is able to be pushed out, we’ve made that clear to the United States that we would support that,” he said.

“But, in the meantime, we’ll just keep getting on with the job.”

Foreign Minister Marise Payne (left) says Australia would support an extension of the Afghanistan withdrawal deadline. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Earlier, Australia joined allies begging for the US to extend the deadline to withdraw from Afghanistan so more people can be helped to flee the Taliban.

An extra 450 Australians and Afghan nationals with visas were evacuated from the capital Kabul on Sunday, but with thousands of people still hoping to escape, pressure is building for the mission to continue beyond August 31.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne said Australia was a “part of” discussions with the US to extend the deadline, as President Joe Biden faces a revolt from allied nations over his handling of the withdrawal.

Ms Payne said Australia stood “ready” to continue its evacuation mission if the US agreed to stay.

US President Joe Biden is being pushed to give allies more time to evacuate people from Afghanistan. Picture: AFP

“If (the withdrawal is) to be extended, we are absolutely ready to support a continuing operation at Hamid Karzai International Airport,” she said.

At least 20 people have died in the crush outside the airport in Kabul, and the presence of Taliban checkpoints has hampered evacuation efforts, with Mr Morrison revealing Australia has sought to “expand the ways” it is getting people onto planes.

It is believed some Australian Defence Force personnel are now leaving the safety of the tarmac to help shepherd evacuees to safety.

As the crisis deepens, world leaders are turning on Mr Biden, with French President Emmanuel Macron describing protecting the Afghans as a “collective moral responsibility”. According to a readout of the call between the two leaders, Mr Macron told Mr Biden “we cannot abandon” the Afghan people.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will pressure Mr Biden to extend the deadline to allow more people to flee the Taliban at an emergency G7 summit meeting today.

It is understood Australian officials have made clear their position on supporting a deadline extension to Mr Johnson ahead of the meeting.

Mr Morrison on Monday announced the ADF had now evacuated more than 1000 people from Kabul working in a “very dangerous situation”.

“There are many women and children that we’ve been able to get out of Afghanistan in what has been some of the most extreme conditions our people have ever operated on, operated in, if not worse,” he said.

But as the opportunity to escape gets smaller, Australians with family in Afghanistan are pleading for a simplified system for those applying for humanitarian visas.

Sydney man Hilmand Dehsabzi said he had friends who worked in the presidential palace who fled the day the Taliban arrived and have not been able to go home since, meaning they have limited documentation to apply for an Australian visa.

A child smiles as she awaits to board as US flight during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul. Picture: AFP

A man carries Taliban flags to sell at the Karte Mamorin area of Kabul city. Picture: AFP

“For the UK all you have to do is fill out a Google doc, for Canada its five simple questions and send an email,” he said.

“The humanitarian visa process for Australia is just not tailored to the circumstances of Afghan people who are trapped under Taliban rule.”

Mr Dehsabzi said Australia’s commitment of 3000 visas for Afghans was a cold comfort to those with dozens of family members who were just trying to get out any way they could.

“Even if that’s somewhere random like Nigeria or Ecuador they need to get out … but if people came here where they had family who could support them and help them get a job, it would be much better,” he said.

Refugee lawyer Atika Hussain said the UK and US were “handling the situation in Kabul in a much better way”.

Australian citizens and visa holders prepare to board an evacuation flight from Kabul. Picture: Supplied/Australian Department of Defence

“They are sending bar codes to people to produce on their phones at the airport gates to show they are genuine,” she said.

“I have got 15 people in Kabul with Australian humanitarian visas and they cannot get near the airport. The one time they did, they were told their visas were fake.”

Ms Hussain said the US and UK authorities were also telling Afghans to meet at points outside the airport and were then putting them on a bus to take them into the ­airport.

Former air force engineer Doug Grierson, head of migration in GAP legal services, said he was getting a lot of “red tape” from department officials, which was “just sending everyone in circles”.

“We are getting advice that thousands of visas have been granted but there is no evidence of that on the ground,” Mr Grierson said.

“We just need to step it up and get more assets involved otherwise it is going to get a lot worse.”