Not clear if all Dutch evacuees made it to Kabul airport, Minister says

It is currently difficult to determine whether everyone the Netherlands had to evacuate from Kabul was able to reach the airport. That said caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigrid Kaag before the parliamentary debate on the crisis. Moreover, the airport is not yet functioning as it should.

"As soon as the airport is open and will remain open, shuttle flights will be organized," said Minister Kaag. According to her, the intention is that every day "as may as possible" people who qualify for evacuation are led out of the country. For the time being, that is not yet possible, because the American armed forces are still working to secure the airport.

The Minister cannot say to what extent the people the Netherlands wants to evacuate can actually reach the airport. The overview is lacking, and that also applies to other countries. "That's heartbreaking. They may be on a passenger list, but we don't know if they can get to the airport."

The current plan is to bring interpreters who worked for the Dutch Armed Forces from Kabul to the Netherlands in particular. A majority in parliament wants the cabinet to take other people who worked for the Dutch mission from Afghanistan in addition to interpreters.

"We have moral obligations. There are people who stuck out their necks for us," said CDA MP Derk Boswijk, who drafted this motion with D66. "These are all people who tried to build up their country with our tax money at the risk of their own lives. We cannot abandon them now."