Afghanistan pullout based on US’ achievement of objectives: Joe Biden to G7

US President Joe Biden told diplomats at the G7 summit on Tuesday that the American military pullout from Afghanistan “will end based on the achievement of our objectives”. Biden further said that the United States was “currently on pace” with finishing the retraction on time, which is scheduled for August 31.

The statements were announced in a White House read-out presented by Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday afternoon.

Biden said that he had already put in the request to the United States Department of Defense and the State Department to draw up a “contingency plan to adjust the timeline should that become necessary”.

More than 4,000 citizens of the United States have been evacuated from Afghanistan, according to Tuesday media reports citing federal officials from the country. 

Earlier on Tuesday, the White House announced that since August 14, the United States has “evacuated and facilitated evacuation” of nearly 58,7000 people from war-torn Afghanistan. The relocation tally since the end of July stands at 63,900 people.

Between 3 am ET on August 23 and 3 am ET on August 24, a total of 37 military flights of the United States took off from Afghanistan and helped evacuate 12,700 people. Coalition flights were also conducted and carried 8,900 people in the time frame, according to a tweet from the White House on Tuesday. 

The tweet read, “Update: Between 3 AM ET on 8/23 and 3 AM ET on 8/24, a total of approximately 21,600 people were evacuated from Kabul. 37 US military flights carried approximately 12,700 evacuees, and 57 coalition flights carried 8,900 people.”

On Tuesday, United States Vice President Kamala Harris also wrote on Twitter that the country’s forces were “working around the clock to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies”. These evacuees will also include “translators, interpreters, Afghan women leaders, and journalists.”