UAE dispatches aircraft carrying medical, food aid to Afghanistan

Along with Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain, the UAE is one of many Gulf states that have served as staging points for evacuation planes for foreigners and Afghans.

The UAE dispatched an aircraft bringing "critical medical and food supplies" to Afghanistan on Friday, according to the official WAM news agency, nearly three weeks after the Taliban took power. According to reports, the assistance "fits within the ambit of the UAE's humanitarian obligation in offering full support to brotherly Afghan people under such current conditions." The UAE foreign ministry said it is the first (Emirati) aid flight since the recent events in Afghanistan.

On Tuesday, the Taliban celebrated with gunfire, just hours after the final US soldiers left Kabul, bringing an end to a frenetic airlift operation that saw more than 123,000 foreign citizens and Afghans escape. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qaeda, which had found refuge in Afghanistan, the United States invaded and deposed the Taliban regime in 2001. Western countries are concerned that Afghanistan may once again become a sanctuary for radicals intent on targeting them.
Along with Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain, the UAE is one of many Gulf states that have served as staging points for evacuation planes for foreigners and Afghans.

Meanwhile, Mullah Baradar, a Taliban co-founder and director of the party's political office, would lead a new Afghan government, sources in the Islamist group claimed on Friday. According to three sources, Baradar would be joined in top roles in the administration by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai the militant organisation battles rebel forces while attempting to avoid economic collapse.