One of the evacuation flights that left Mazar-i-Sharif. Photo courtesy Glenn Beck
In series of posts on Twitter, Glenn Beck singled out the prime minister for leveraging his position to save innocent lives in Afghanistan
Conservative commentator Glenn Beck, whose charity organization has been involved in evacuations from Afghanistan, on Monday praised Prime Minister Imran Khan for helping protect innocent lives by encouraging the Taliban to allow civilians to fly out of Mazar-i-Sharif via chartered flights.
“We reached out and asked numerous leaders in political and civil society around the world for help,” he wrote in a series of posts on Twitter. “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.
Beck credited Khan for overcoming religious differences, political divides, national boundaries and local dynamics to achieve the humanitarian goal of saving innocents who faced “certain death” if left behind in Afghanistan. “He [Khan] took the lead to save innocent lives irrespective of politics, race, religion or culture,” he said.
“No other global leader that we have seen took such initiative to leverage his/her position to save the innocents, putting humanity before politics and showing how much the great faiths have in common on the bridge of compassion,” he added.
The radio and TV host lauded Khan for being “gracious with his time,” adding that he had asked his people to intervene on behalf of Beck’s charity 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.”
Claiming that the support from the military and civilian resource of Pakistan was essential to securing the release of three planes from the Taliban, Beck also credited Khan’s “tireless leadership” for enabling the evacuations. “Other media outlets may have their own agenda for criticizing him [Khan] over the last few days, but he should be recognized for the lives he helped save this weekend,” he said.
“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. The United States should collectively recognize Pakistan’s assistance at this juncture,” he said, adding: “Let no one fool you, the [Afghan women’s football team] are out because of you and Imran Khan.”
Earlier this month, six planes chartered by Beck’s charity, Mercury One, were grounded by the Taliban in Mazar-i-Sharif pending negotiations between the U.S. State Department and the new Afghan regime. According to reports, the planes were set to evacuate at least 1,000 people, including more than 100 U.S. citizens.