Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy has flown to Afghanistan to see for himself conditions in the country where millions are facing starvation following the chaotic withdrawal of foreign forces last year.
Mr Lammy and shadow international development minister Preet Gill, who is travelling with him, are thought to be the first UK politicians to visit the country since the return of the Taliban.
Labour said the trip is being facilitated by the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs and that there will not be any meetings with Taliban officials or representatives.
The country was plunged into crisis last summer when the Western-backed government collapsed largely without a fight in the face of a renewed Taliban offensive.
Mr Lammy said the way the remaining UK and other foreign forces had scrambled to get out had damaged the country’s reputation and he called on the Government to set out a plan to alleviate the ensuing humanitarian catastrophe.
“The Government downgraded the UK’s international reputation and made the whole world less safe with its calamitous handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan last summer,” the Tottenham MP said in a statement ahead of his visit.
The UK Government’s woeful lack of leadership that was so visible last year is continuing as it ignores the humanitarian catastrophe
“Today, millions of Afghanistan’s civilians are suffering from starvation, with some even forced to sell body parts to feed their families.
“The UK Government’s woeful lack of leadership that was so visible last year is continuing as it ignores the humanitarian catastrophe.
“Ministers must urgently set out a comprehensive strategy for engaging with Afghanistan to support the millions of civilians who are starving, restore the 0.7% commitment to international aid, and lead the world by convening an emergency global food summit with the UN.”
