Around 85 Afghan refugees have landed this Monday at the Air Base of Torrejón de Ardoz, in Madrid, on an airplane from Islamabad (Pakistan), within the government’s process to evacuate staff who collaborated in Afghanistan with the Spanish authorities and their
Families
The group of Afghans, among which there are several minors and women, has been received on the track of the air base after landing at nine o’clock at night by the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles;
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, and the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, José Luis Escrivá.
It is the first evacuation aircraft that reaches Spain with refugees from Afghanistan after which it landed on August 27 also in Torrejón with 195 passengers, including the Ambassador and 85 Afghans, after the taking of the country’s control by the Taliban.
“It is the manifestation that Spain is a serious and committed country that does not leave anyone behind,” said the defense minister, which he has commented that there has been a “very emotional” encounter between a father and a daughter who had not been able to
Arrive at the same time for the difficulties given to leave Kabul Airport (Afghanistan).
Specifically, this Monday has landed around 85 Afghan refugees and on Tuesday, October 12, October 12, the arrival of another airplane is scheduled with 160, although the figure may vary depending on the controls that have to go before the transfer,
According to government sources.
The defense minister has declared the media that it does not know if the Tuesday will be the last Afghan refugee evacuation plane, since they are “long” and “difficult” processes.
For its part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has thanked the collaboration of the Government of Pakistan with these evacuations since “without them it would not have been possible”, while that of inclusion, social security and migrations has said that now the integration process begins
For these Afghan refugees, for which three town halls have already offered homes: Valladolid, Fabero (León) and Marchamalo (Guadalajara).
The arrival of around 230 Afghans between Monday and Tuesday will be added to 2,206 people between Spaniards and Afghans who were evacuated in the first evacuation operation carried out by Spain last August.
Afghans evacuated on this occasion collaborated specifically with the Spanish Embassy, the Ministry of Defense and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
Recently the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, traveled to Pakistan and Qatar to transfer his authorities to establish ways to evacuate from Kabul to Afghan collaborators who could not leave their country in the first phase of repatriation.
Qatar and Pakistan are the states that have a greater political relationship with Afghan radical Islamists.
