Grant special visas to Afghan staff at risk from Taliban: UK media urges PM Johnson

A coalition of UK news organisations on Wednesday wrote a letter to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, demanding to provide special visas to "Afghan staff who have worked for the British media so that they and their families can leave Afghanistan."

The letter, jointly sent by twenty prominent media outlets, urged to provide special visas to Afghan staff who helped British media in covering the on-ground reality of Afghanistan and are now at risk of persecution by the Taliban, Sputnik news reported.

"With that in mind, we write to you to highlight the urgent need for a special Afghan visa programme for Afghan staff who have worked for the British media so that they and their families can leave Afghanistan and find safety in the United Kingdom," the letter said.

A week earlier, the US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to allot eight thousand more Special Immigration Visas (SIVs) to interpreters, contractors, and other vulnerable Afghans who have worked with the US army in the war-torn country.

The White House also plans to evacuate 750 SIV applicants and their family members who have completed security vetting to Fort Lee military base in Virginia while another four thousand applicants will be relocated to a safe third country where their paperwork will be reviewed.

This comes in wake of the drawdown by foreign troops from the war-torn country.

Over the last few weeks, the Taliban have captured several districts in Afghanistan including Takhar, the country's northeastern province.

The Taliban seized over 193 district centres and 19 border districts, according to the Afghan Foreign Ministry.

The Taliban have also taken control of 10 border crossing points across the country in Takhar, Kunduz, Badakhshan, Herat, and Farah provinces leading to the complete shutdown of cross-border movements and trade in these areas.

( With inputs from ANI )