Sen. Richard Blumenthal racing to clear charter flights for Americans and allies desperate to flee Afghanistan

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal stepped up his efforts Thursday to clear two charter flights trying to leave northern Afghanistan with American citizens and their Afghan allies on board.

Delicate negotiations have been underway the last 10 days as Blumenthal has been trying to help passengers who have been waiting for days at the international airport in Mazar-e Sharif, the country’s fourth-largest city. Others hoping to leave are in hiding and would head to the airport at the last minute if the chartered flights are cleared to leave, Blumenthal said.

The Taliban has said publicly that some passengers do not have the proper paperwork to leave.

“We’re continuing to press the State Department to pressure the Taliban,’' Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, said Thursday. “The planes that we have in Mazar-e-Sharif may have to fly to Kabul before they leave because they are not allowing international flights from Mazar-e-Sharif. We’re working hard on it now.”

Those efforts were continuing as a separate, unrelated flight departed Kabul Thursday in the first major evacuation since American military forces left the country at the end of August. About 200 passengers were headed to Doha, Qatar after an agreement was reached with the Taliban, which now controls the airports.

“Certainly, the departure of any group of threatened Americans or others [on the other flight] is a good and positive step, but there is no cause at this point for a victory lap or mission accomplished sign. There is still work to be done.’'

With the U.S. embassy closed and no American officials on the ground in Afghanistan to facilitate the departure, the effort to clear the Mazar-e Sharif flights has been delayed for more than a week.

Blumenthal said he was able to speak publicly because the Taliban is already aware of the effort, but he was asked to withhold certain information, such as the names of the relief organizations involved, due to the sensitivity of the situation.

He and his staff have been working with a coalition that includes top officials at the State Department, ambassadors, and several relief agencies. Blumenthal said he had hoped that the planes would have left days ago.

“This situation is a humanitarian nightmare,’’ Blumenthal said in an interview. “Many of them are terrified and in hiding. They deserve to leave the country now.’'

The situation has become more complicated because Americans, who essentially controlled Kabul and other key areas during the 20-year war in Afghanistan, are no longer in charge as the private effort to evacuate Americans and their Afghan allies continues.

“There are no government planes involved,’’ Blumenthal said. “There are no military on the ground. There is no State Department to supervise. It’s a completely private effort – funded and operated by humanitarian groups and relief organizations. It’s a very important coalition. … This effort is to fill a gap left by the U.S. withdrawal. The U.S. government has no boots on the ground to verify these passengers.’’

He added, “The planes are ready to go. We’ve checked all the boxes, and unfortunately, we’ve lost valuable time.’'

The latest efforts are being made after more than 120,000 people were evacuated from the Kabul international airport in the chaotic final days after the Taliban seized power. A suicide bombing in the last days killed 13 American soldiers and 169 Afghans at the airport as thousands tried to flee the country

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com