KABUL: American conservative political commentator and radio host Glenn Beck has thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan for securing the release of his chartered aircraft which were being held by the Taliban in Mazar-e-Sharif.
In a series of tweets, Glenn Beck, who said he will share the letter exchanged with Prime Minister Imran Khan in hours of desperation, said he reached out and asked numerous leaders in political and civil society around the world for help.
“The silence was shocking as was the outpouring help on a humanitarian basis. Some calls and requests received a simple yes or no, some went unanswered but we received an immediate response to our requests from Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan who then acted on his willingness to assist,” he said.
He said PM Imran Khan “took the lead to save innocent lives irrespective of politics, race, religion or culture” as it was a humanitarian effort aimed at saving innocent victims facing certain death if left behind in a war ravaged country.
“No other global leader that we have seen, took such an initiative to leverage his/her position to save the innocent putting humanity before politics and showing how much the great faiths have in common on the bridge of compassion,” he said.
Glen Beck said PM Imran Khan quickly instructed to “intervene on our behalf and was able to make the difference between life and death for those on board the first three aircraft to leave Mazar e Sharif in Afghanistan with nearly a thousand civilians on board.”
He added that due to Imran Khan’s tireless leadership and support from the military and civilian resource of Pakistan, three planes were released by the Taliban.
“I sincerely thank him and pray he continues to help us work to build a bridge with the common interest of protecting innocent, precious lives during this humanitarian effort,” he added.
He said the United States should collectively recognise Pakistan’s assistance at this juncture. “We will not allow anyone to forget this moment that enabled America and its allies to make good on their promises to those that helped them without pause or reflection.”
1. Tomorrow on radio I will share the letters exchanged between me and the prime minister of Pakistan. In the hour of desperate need I reached out in the hopes that some sort of leadership could be found to help us do the impossible. @ImranKhanPTI Con’t pic.twitter.com/qyCTtBCJo4
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) September 19, 2021
It must be mentioned that six private charter planes seeking to evacuate at least 1,000 people including more than 100 Americans out of Afghanistan were grounded by the Taliban since September 3.
The planes in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif were chartered by Mercury One, a charity founded by Christian conservative media personality Glenn Beck. Three other evacuation flights were also grounded by the Taliban awaiting clearance.
Funded entirely with private money, the Mercury One rescue mission chartered six planes for evacuation flights to a Gulf state. However, the Taliban grounded the flights amid a breakdown in negotiations with the State Department.
The negotiations with the Taliban to grant private planes clearance to depart dragged on for days while evacuees remained in hiding many of whom did not have visas or passports.
Representative Michael McCaul describing the incident as a “hostage situation.” White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said that around 100 US citizens were still in Afghanistan. Beck shared a photo of a plane on the tarmac to Instagram on August 26, writing “one of the last planes to leave #kabul before the bombings.”
