Government did not think Kabul would fall to Taliban this year, Dominic Raab admits
The Foreign Secretary also revealed that he will be travelling “to the region” following the Wednesday afternoon session.
Answering questions from the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Mr Raab said the UK Government assessment was that it was “unlikely” the capital Kabul would be taken by the group in 2021.
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Hide AdHe explained: “The central assessment that we were operating to, and it was certainly backed up by the JIC (Joint Intelligence Committee) and the military, is that the most likely, the central proposition, was that given the troop withdrawal by the end of August, you’d see a steady deterioration from that point and it was unlikely Kabul would fall this year.”


The Cabinet Minister did not give exact details of his upcoming trip to the area, citing security concerns, but told the MPs in attendance:“We’re always very careful about signalling travel movements because of the security implications.
“But I can tell you I’m leaving after this committee to go to the region.”
The Prime Minister’s special representative for Afghan transition, Sir Simon Gass, has already travelled to Qatar to meet “senior Taliban representatives” about allowing people to leave Afghanistan.
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Hide AdThe Foreign Secretary faced intense criticism when it was revealed that he was on holiday in Crete as Kabul fell to the Taliban, however, when pressed for more precise details on the timing he refused to offer more information, labelling the questions a “fishing expedition”.
While he did say he “would not have gone away with the benefit of hindsight,” but added: “I am not going to start adding to, frankly, the fishing expedition beyond the facts that I have articulated and the fulsome statement and having answered questions on this continuously.”