UK LoP Keir Starmer slams UK govt on Afghan withdrawal, says PM 'underestimated Taliban'

The United Kingdom's Leader of Opposition, Keir Starmer, criticised the UK government's handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal in Parliament calling it "complacent and wrong". 

Starmer said that the "Prime Minister underestimated the strength of Taliban" and asserted that the government's actions had been "complacent and wrong" by assuming that there was no path to military victory for the Taliban in Afghanistan. While Starmer criticised PM Boris Johnson's leadership, he praised the efforts of armed forces involved in Operation Pitting, the UK's Afghanistan evacuation mission.

Starmer criticises Johnson over Afghan withdrawal

Labour Party leader Starmer acknowledged that troops brought British and Afghan nationals safely from the war-ravaged nation to be able to begin a new life in the United Kingdom, but said that the UK government was unaware as to "how many British nationals and Afghan nationals have been left behind to the cruelty of Taliban". The Labour leader added that even if the government knows about the numbers, they do not have a plan to evacuate the people from the war-torn nation as the Kabul Airport remains closed. Starmer said that the prime minister was “incapable of international leadership".

The UK Leader of Opposition also urged the government to give military medals to British troops involved in the evacuation of Afghanistan last month. Speaking in the House of Commons, Starmer told Prime Minister Boris Johnson to accept his party's proposal to honour the "remarkable" work of those who served in Operation Pitting. He urged the UK Prime Minister to scrap the 30-day continuous service rule so that medals are awarded for bravery. He thanked all the people who served in Operation Pitting.

"Your service deserves recognition and honour and I hope the prime minister will accept Labour's proposal to scrap the 30-day continuous service rule so that medals are awarded for your bravery", Starmer said while speaking in the Parliament.

Starmer asserted that "the heroes on the ground of Operation Pitting are the best of us", and noted that the UK ambassador stayed in the war-torn nation to help in processing the cases of the people. He said that paratroopers lifted people from the "crush" and Afghan soldiers continued to serve alongside the troops. The Labour leader also pointed out that thousands of people risked their lives in order to help others escape the war-ravaged nation.

Speaking in Parliament, UK PM Boris Johnson said that 311 people are eligible to come to Britain under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme. He added that efforts will be made to ensure the safe passage of people from Afghanistan.