Canada will withdraw its special forces from Afghanistan by August 31 and stop the evacuation at Kabul airport, Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said at a media briefing on August 25.
It is understood that until August 31, Canadian special forces in Kabul only allowed people with Canadian passports to board evacuation aircraft through security.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made it clear that the withdrawal of Canada and other allies in Afghanistan should be completed by the August 31 deadline for U.S. withdrawal, Sajan said.
Marc Garneau, Canada’s foreign minister, acknowledged that thousands of Canadian-related personnel, including Canadians who had not yet arrived to leave, and many locals who served Canadian troops and diplomatic missions in Afghanistan, would remain in Afghanistan once the evacuations were halted.
After August 31, garner said, the Canadian government will provide special visas for Afghans serving Canada to evacuate to third countries. However, he did not mention how Canada would provide assistance to those persons to travel to third countries. The Afghan Taliban have made it clear that they will ban Afghan citizens from leaving the country after 31 August.
