AIRLINK 175.73 Decreased By ▼ -2.19 (-1.23%)
BOP 13.12 Increased By ▲ 0.24 (1.86%)
CNERGY 7.54 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.53%)
FCCL 43.91 Decreased By ▼ -2.08 (-4.52%)
FFL 15.01 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-0.99%)
FLYNG 26.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.44 (-1.61%)
HUBC 130.23 Decreased By ▼ -1.81 (-1.37%)
HUMNL 13.34 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.38%)
KEL 4.50 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.9%)
KOSM 6.06 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
MLCF 56.03 Decreased By ▼ -0.60 (-1.06%)
OGDC 214.77 Decreased By ▼ -9.07 (-4.05%)
PACE 5.98 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.17%)
PAEL 40.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.61 (-1.47%)
PIAHCLA 16.32 Increased By ▲ 0.31 (1.94%)
PIBTL 9.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-1.32%)
POWER 11.76 Increased By ▲ 0.60 (5.38%)
PPL 181.48 Decreased By ▼ -5.15 (-2.76%)
PRL 34.22 Decreased By ▼ -0.68 (-1.95%)
PTC 23.06 Decreased By ▼ -0.47 (-2%)
SEARL 95.72 Increased By ▲ 0.76 (0.8%)
SILK 1.14 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
SSGC 35.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.14%)
SYM 15.75 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.7%)
TELE 7.87 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
TPLP 10.98 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.46%)
TRG 60.50 Increased By ▲ 1.30 (2.2%)
WAVESAPP 10.81 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.28%)
WTL 1.35 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
YOUW 3.77 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.79%)
BR100 12,054 Decreased By -76.5 (-0.63%)
BR30 36,467 Decreased By -778.6 (-2.09%)
KSE100 114,356 Decreased By -42.4 (-0.04%)
KSE30 35,347 Decreased By -110.8 (-0.31%)

OTTAWA: Canada said Friday it will take in up to 20,000 Afghan refugees, including women leaders, government workers and others facing threats from the Taliban, as insurgents advanced across the country seizing major cities.

"The situation in Afghanistan is heartbreaking and Canada will not stand idly by," Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino told a news conference.

The refugees will include "particularly vulnerable" Afghans still in the country or who've already fled to neighboring states, which in addition to female leaders and government employees also comprises human rights defenders, persecuted minorities and journalists.

Several plane-loads of asylum seekers have already departed with the first one landing Friday in Toronto, Mendicino said.

As the Taliban advances on the capital Kabul, officials said Canadian special forces form part of a contingency plans to airlift Canadian embassy staff, but details were not provided due to the sensitive nature of the security operation.

Earlier Friday, many countries including Spain, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands announced the withdrawal of staff from their respective embassies.

Canada has said it is monitoring the situation in Afghanistan "very closely" and working with its allies on the ground.

"Protecting the Canadian Embassy and our staff is our top priority," said Foreign Minister Marc Garneau. On Twitter, he said that Canada "owes Afghans a debt of gratitude and we will continue our efforts to bring them to safety."

Comments

Comments are closed.