The United States acknowledges the Taliban have not prevented individuals from traveling outside Afghanistan.
Rejecting reports that the Taliban had prevented people from traveling outside Afghanistan, the secretary of state said the group would only allow people without valid travel documents to leave.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has denied reports that the Taliban were blocking US efforts to leave Mazar-e-Sharif, saying the group did not allow people without a credible travel instructor to leave Afghanistan.
Earlier, some media outlets reported that more than a thousand people, including dozens of Americans, were waiting to leave Afghanistan at Mazar-e-Sharif airport but were not allowed to leave.
Michael McCall, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also confirmed that there were six charter flights in Mazar-e-Sharif that would not be allowed to fly.
Blinken said a “relatively small number” of Americans were trying to leave Mazar-e-Sharif, stressing that the main challenge for people leaving was that some people without valid travel documents prevented others from leaving.
According to Reuters, the US Secretary of State said in a press conference: “The Taliban have not prevented the departure of people who have a valid travel document, but they have said that those who do not have a valid travel document can not leave Afghanistan at this time.”
He noted that the Taliban is committed to the departure of Americans with valid travel documents.