Afghan activist Shukria Barakzai in 2010
A prominent Afghan politician gave emotional thanks on Tuesday to a British MP for helping to rescue her from the Taliban's clutches, appealing for the UK to do more to get others out.
Shukria Barakzai, who was a lawmaker in Afghanistan and the ousted government's ex-ambassador to Norway, was speaking at a UK parliamentary hearing into the Islamist movement's lightning takeover of power.
The House of Commons foreign affairs committee also heard remotely from General David Petraeus, the former commander of US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, who said the "heartbreaking" takeover was entirely foreseeable once President Joe Biden had announced his intention to quit the country.
Like others such as Afghan interpreters who served with Western armed forces, Barakzai feared for her life as the Taliban overran Kabul in mid-August and appealed directly to the UK committee's chairman, Tom Tugendhat.
Barakzai, who survived an assassination attempt in 2014, was evacuated to Britain just as Taliban fighters ransacked her home in search of her.
Placing her hand on her heart, she told Tugendhat in the room: "You saved my life -- a mother for her kids, a daughter for her mother."
The Conservative Tugendhat is a former British Army officer who served in Afghanistan under Petraeus.
He told Barakzai: "It is a huge privilege to have you here, and I'm very grateful I was able to play a small part in ensuring that you are here."
Barakzai was echoed by fellow activist Shaharzad Akbar in urging Britain and the West to help other Afghans who are vulnerable to Taliban reprisals to resettle, and to find ways of getting humanitarian assistance into Afghanistan through local aid groups.
- 'Damning' -
Akbar chaired the now-defunct Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, and signed a recent letter with Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and others demanding the Taliban let girls return to school.
Speaking by video link from Turkey, Akbar said that of her commission's 392 staff, only six were given visas by the UK government and only two of them made it to Britain after bureaucratic delays.
"At least in my experience, there are smaller countries in Europe that have done better," she said.
The rapidity of the Taliban takeover appeared to catch the US and UK governments off-guard, but Petraeus was one of several former generals who worried publicly that the Afghan military would soon collapse without Western support.
The Times newspaper in London reported Monday that Britain's envoy to Kabul had warned repeatedly that the fall of Kabul was coming, but then-foreign secretary Dominic Raab nevertheless went on holiday in August.
On Twitter, Tugendhat called the report "damning".
Petraeus, however, said the Taliban were now discovering the problems of holding power as they battle against the Islamic State-Khorasan militant group.
He said there was the potential for Western countries to align with Russia and China over Afghanistan, as no one wants "another geopolitical Chernobyl" like Syria.
Moscow invited the United States, China and Pakistan for talks taking place on Tuesday, aiming for "a common position on the changing situation in Afghanistan".
Blaming logistical issues, Washington said it would not be joining the talks, but called the Russian initiative "constructive".
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