WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday he would travel to Qatar on Sunday to meet with the country’s leaders and thank them for their help with evacuees from Afghanistan, and later go to Germany for a ministerial meeting.
Blinken told a news conference at the State Department he would meet with Afghans and workers in the Qatari capital Doha “who are doing truly heroic work around the clock.”
He said he would travel to the Ramstein Air Base in Germany where he also would meet with Afghans. The ministerial meeting will be held virtually with partners, including more than 20 countries that have a stake in relocating and settling Afghans.
Blinken also said the US government was maintaining contact with the Taliban. “We continue to maintain channels of communication with the Taliban, on issues that are important,” Blinken said.
The State Department was “in constant contact” with Americans remaining in Afghanistan who still wish to leave the country, Blinken said.
“We have dedicated teams assigned to each of these American citizens to be in constant contact with them. We’re providing them with very tailored, very specific guidance,” he said.
Almost all of those remaining are dual nationals whose homes are in Afghanistan and whose extended families live there, Blinken said.
“It’s no surprise that deciding whether or not to leave the place they call home is a wrenching decision,” he said.
Blinken also described the department’s efforts since President Joe Biden took office in January to speed the processing of special visas for Afghans who worked with US forces during the 20-year war, thousands of whom are still in Afghanistan.
Blinken to travel to Qatar and Germany to hold meetings on Afghanistan
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Blinken to travel to Qatar and Germany to hold meetings on Afghanistan
- Blinken told a news conference at the State Department he would meet with Afghans and workers in Doha
- He said he would travel to the Ramstein Air Base in Germany where he also would meet with Afghans
London police using withdrawn powers to clamp down on pro-Palestine rallies: Probe
- ‘Cumulative disruption’ cited to ban, reroute rallies but power granted by concept withdrawn by Court of Appeal in May
- Network for Police Monitoring: This demonstrates ‘ongoing crackdown on protest’ that has reached ‘alarming point’
LONDON: London’s Metropolitan Police have used powers that have been withdrawn to clamp down on pro-Palestine rallies in the capital, legal experts have said.
The Guardian and Liberty Investigates obtained evidence that police officers had imposed restrictions on at least two protests based on the principle of “cumulative disruption.” But that power was withdrawn by the Court of Appeal in May, according to legal experts.
All references to cumulative disruption have been removed from relevant legislation, yet the Home Office and the Met continue to insist that police officers retain the power to consider the concept when suppressing protests.
On May 7, five days after the powers were withdrawn, the Met banned a Jewish pro-Palestine group from holding its weekly rally in north London, citing the cumulative impact on the neighborhood’s Jewish community.
Last month, the Met forced the Palestine Coalition to change the route of its rally on three days’ notice, highlighting the cumulative impact on businesses during Black Friday weekend.
Raj Chada, a partner at Hodge, Jones & Allen and a leading criminal lawyer, said: “There is no reference to cumulative disruption in the original (legislation). The regulations that introduced this concept were quashed in May 2025, so I fail to see how this can still be the approach taken by police. There is no legal basis for this whatsoever.”
The Met appeared “not to care” if it was acting within the law, the Network for Police Monitoring said, adding that the revelation surrounding “cumulative disruption” demonstrated an “ongoing crackdown on protest” that had reached an “alarming point” by police in London.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans in October to reintroduce the power to consider cumulative impact in toughened form.
But Nick Glynn, a retired senior officer from Leicestershire Police, said: “The police have too many protest powers already and they definitely don’t need any more. If they are provided with them, they not only use them (but) as in this case, they stretch them.
“They go beyond what was intended. The right to protest is sacrosanct and more stifling of protest makes democracy worth less.”
Cumulative disruption was regularly considered and employed in regulations if protests met the threshold of causing “serious disruption to the life of the community.”
The Court of Appeal withdrew the power following a legal challenge by human rights group Liberty.
Ben Jamal, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s director, was reportedly told by Alison Heydari, the Met’s deputy assistant commissioner, that her decision on imposing protest regulations “will be purely around the cumulative effect of your protests.”
She reportedly added that “this is not just about Saturday’s protest but it’s a combination of all the impacts of all the processions so far,” referencing “serious disruption” to the business community.
“You’ve used this route in November 2024, and you’ve used it a few times before then as well. So, there is an impact.”
The repeated disruption to PSC-hosted marches, the largest pro-Palestine events in London, was a “demobilizer,” Jamal said.
It also caused confusion about march starting points and led to protesters being harassed by police officers who accused them of violating protest conditions, he added.
A Met spokesperson told The Guardian: “The outcome of the judicial review does not prevent senior officers from considering the cumulative impact of protest on the life of communities.
“To determine the extent of disruption that may result from a particular protest, it is, of course, important to consider the circumstances in which that protest is to be held, including any existing disruption an affected community is already experiencing.
“We recognise the importance of the right to protest. We also recognise our responsibility to use our powers to ensure that protest does not result in serious disorder or serious disruption. We use those powers lawfully and will continue to do so.”
