Staffs of 2 Aid Groups Start Afghan Pullout

Foreign staff members of two Christian humanitarian aid organizations began pulling out of Afghanistan on Saturday, a day after the ruling Taliban issued an ultimatum for their expulsion and raided their offices.

“Some have already gone, and the rest of us are making final preparations for leaving in the face of the Taliban’s notification,” said a staff member of the International Assistance Mission, who declined to be identified.

Those who left have gone by road to neighboring Pakistan, he said.

The Taliban on Friday said all foreign staff of the International Assistance Mission and Serve, which have operations in several key cities, must leave the country within 72 hours.

The Taliban has not explained the reason for the order but said the decision followed frequent reports and complaints about the activities of the two organizations.

The Taliban said no foreign staff members of the two agencies were arrested.

But Western sources said four British nationals working for the International Assistance Mission in the western city of Herat and several unidentified foreigners in the eastern city of Jalalabad had been detained.

“I have heard about the arrest too,” the International Assistance Mission staff member said.

He said the Taliban gave no clarification for its decision, and privately some Taliban sources said the move was made after the fundamentalist Islamic militia found that the International Assistance Mission and Serve had links to another Christian relief group called Shelter Now International, whose staff members have been charged with proselytizing.

Twenty-four staff members of the German-based Shelter Now, consisting of two Americans, four Germans, two Australians and 16 Afghans, were jailed last month on charges of proselytizing.

The arrests followed months of worsening ties between the Taliban and foreign aid groups helping millions of impoverished Afghans cope with more than two decades of war and a devastating drought.