Prince Harry and Meghan Markle give statement on Afghanistan, Taliban takeover

Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have issued a call to action, saying they are “speechless” over the Afghanistan situation.

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (R) and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex (L) have spoken out about Afghanistan.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have spoken out on the devastating Afghanistan crisis and described the world as “exceptionally fragile”.

The Sun reports that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex claimed they have been left “speechless” at the Taliban takeover.

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have spoken out on Afghanistan.

In a lengthy joint statement posted on their Archewell site, the pair urged the world to prove “our humanity”.

The couple wrote: “As we all feel the many layers of pain due to the situation in Afghanistan, we are left speechless.

“As we all watch the growing humanitarian disaster in Haiti, and the threat of it worsening after last weekend’s earthquake, we are left heartbroken.

Two women take shelter after being hit by Tropical Storm Grace at an improvised refugee camp at Parc Lande de Gabion stadium in Haiti.

“And as we all witness the continuing global health crisis, exacerbated by new variants and constant misinformation, we are left scared.

“When any person or community suffers, a piece of each of us does so with them, whether we realise it or not. And though we are not meant to live in a state of suffering, we, as a people, are being conditioned to accept it.

“It’s easy to find ourselves feeling powerless, but we can put our values into action – together.”

Taliban fighters stand guard at an entrance gate outside the Interior Ministry in Kabul.

The couple asked for support for organisations doing “critical work”.

They also urged those in “positions of global influence” to “rapidly advance the humanitarian dialogues that are expected to take place this fall at multilateral gatherings” such as the UN and G20.

Meghan and Harry added: “As an international community, it is the decision we make now – to alleviate suffering among those we know and those we may never meet – that will prove our humanity.”

Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

The couple highlighted organisations such as Women for Afghan Women, Afghanaid and Mercy Corps – but didn’t elaborate on how they were supporting them.

The statement comes just hours after Harry called on military veterans to “support one another” amid the brutal takeover.

Harry, who spent 10 years in the Army and went on two tours of duty on the frontline in Afghanistan, referenced the Invictus Games.

But their response is likely to raise eyebrows as the pair have been such big supporters of under-fire president Joe Biden in the past.

Prince Harry didn’t comment on close friend Joe Biden’s decision to pull troops out of Afghanistan.

He has been slammed for standing by his controversial decision to remove American troops out of Afghanistan – leading the way for the Taliban to seize power.

Mr Biden also blasted the Afghan army for “giving up” in a speech branded “one of the most shameful in US history” after days of silence on the crisis.

The president said: “The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.

“So what’s happened?

“Afghanistan political leaders gave up and fled the country.”

Both Harry and Meghan suggested Americans should vote for Mr Biden ahead of last year’s US election.

Although the Duke of Sussex wasn’t allowed to vote in the recent US elections, he did break royal protocol for the first time in openly talking about politics alongside Meghan, who did cast a vote.

Prince Harry, Joe Biden and Jill Biden have been friends for years.

The royal couple urged people to go out and vote, with Harry saying it is time to “reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity”.

But many saw the video as a thinly veiled attempt by the royals to get their fans to vote Donald Trump out of office.

Meghan also called the 2020 White House race the “most important of our lifetime”.

The Duke of Sussex is also a close friend of Mr Biden’s wife Jill.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and is republished here with permission