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66-475: Initially, the effort was led by Robert O. Work who was concerned about China's military use of the emerging technology. Reportedly, Pentagon development stops short of acting as an AI weapons system capable of firing on self-designated targets. The project was established in a memo by the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense on 26 April 2017. At the second Defense One Tech Summit in July 2017, Cukor also said that

132-813: A US request to serve as a transit hub for evacuees. The Philippine government ordered the mandatory evacuation of Filipino nationals in Afghanistan through the auspices of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippines Embassy in Islamabad , Pakistan (which is accredited to Afghanistan). Of the 173 Filipino nationals there, 78 agreed to accept the government's repatriation efforts while some accepted help from their companies. The Philippine government also agreed to accept refugees from Afghanistan. A flight by Emirates Airlines to Kabul

198-534: A budget request that reduced submarine construction, Work said that only a submarine could operate in the Taiwan Strait during a conflict with China. In 2013, the Center for a New American Security announced that Work would be their new CEO as of April 22, 2013. On February 7, 2014, President Obama nominated Work to become Deputy Secretary of Defense. In October 2014, Deputy Secretary Work instructed

264-808: A secret meeting in Kabul with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar , who had returned to Afghanistan from exile in Qatar to discuss the 31 August withdrawal deadline. Also on 23 August, Gulf News reported that since 14 August, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) evacuated 1,400 people from Kabul which included diplomats, foreign media and Afghan journalists and staff of international organizations. European Union (EU) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) also requested Pakistani authorities to help evacuate their employees and their families in Afghanistan. EU officials sought urgent evacuation of at least 420 people while ADB requested evacuation of 290 people. By this time PIA

330-498: A temporary halt to clear the runway of civilians as the US military confirmed the airport was open for all military flights and limited commercial flights. Pentagon officials added that evacuation efforts were expected to be expedited and were scheduled to continue until 31 August. Al Jazeera , relaying tracking of flight data posts on Twitter , said that between 15 and 16 August, at least 170 military flights flew from countries including

396-472: A woman, were also found on the ground outside near the passenger terminal building, but their cause of death was unclear, though some observers speculated they may have died during a stampede. Seven people were eventually confirmed to have died during this stage—including two armed men shot after firing at US soldiers, according to the US Department of Defense (DOD). The soldiers were not injured, and

462-618: Is called Maven Smart System . It could display information such as aircraft movements, logistics, locations of key personnel, locations on the no-strike list, ships, etc. Yellow-outlined boxes show potential targets. Blue-outlined boxes show friendly forces or no-strike zones. It could also transmit, directly to weapons, a human decision to fire weapons. The 18th Airborne Corps is the main tester of Project Maven. With collaborating arms organization in US and UK, it has used Maven and weapons systems connected to it to strike targets from bombers , fighter jets and drones . Beginning in 2020, Maven

528-580: Is made by Palantir. At least 21 private companies had been involved. The data sources include photographs, satellite imagery , geolocation data ( IP address , geotag , metadata, etc) from communications intercepts, infrared sensors , synthetic-aperture radar , etc. Machine learning systems, including object recognition systems, process the data and identify potential targets, such as enemy tanks or location of new military facility. The training dataset included at least 4 million images of military objects such as warships, labelled by humans. The user interface

594-502: The 201st Corps and 111th Division, both based in Kabul. Intelligence projections quickly worsened. By 14 August, the Taliban had encircled Kabul. On 15 August, Kabul fell and the Taliban declared victory in the War in Afghanistan . As the Taliban seized control, the urgency to evacuate populations vulnerable to the Taliban, including those interpreters and assistants who had worked with

660-734: The Afghan peace process , the Trump administration and Taliban signed the Doha Agreement in February 2020. Accordingly, the US agreed to withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan by 1 May 2021. The Taliban failed to honor most of its pledges in the agreement. Nonetheless, the Biden administration decided to continue with the planned withdrawal, although it pushed back the completion date first to 11 September 2021 and then to 31 August 2021. As

726-663: The Commandant of the Marine Corps ; and, in his highest military posting, as Military Assistant and Special Aide to United States Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig . In 1997–1998, he attended MIT Seminar XXI . Work's rank when he retired from the Marines in 2001 was colonel . He joined the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) as a senior fellow for maritime affairs. He later became

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792-577: The Defense Business Board to hire consultants from McKinsey & Company to identify wasteful spending. McKinsey discovered DoD was spending $ 134 billion, 23% of its total budget, on back-office work, and that the back-office bureaucracy staff of over one million people was nearly as great as the number of active duty troops. On January 22, 2015, the board then voted to recommend adoption of McKinsey's five-year plan to cut $ 125 billion in waste. However, after Secretary Chuck Hagel

858-715: The Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service , the Pentagon's highest award for a civilian. In December 2019 Work was presented with the Swedish Royal Order of the Polar Star by defense minister Peter Hultqvist . After retiring as Deputy Defense Secretary, Work in 2018 criticized Google and its employees for, in his view, stepping into a moral hazard for themselves as not continuing Pentagon's artificial intelligence project while helping China's AI technology that could be used against

924-812: The Indonesian Air Force Boeing 737-400 with a number of soldiers of the Koopssus TNI . On 22 August, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation revealed that the Australian government had denied visas to over 100 Afghans who had worked as security guards for the Australian embassy. That evening, Lloyd Austin , United States Secretary of Defense , ordered the activation of the American Civil Reserve Air Fleet to aid in

990-807: The Obama and Trump administrations from 2014 to 2017. Prior to that, Work was the United States Under Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2013, and before that served as a colonel in the United States Marine Corps ; Work retired in 2001 and worked as a civilian at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) and the George Washington University in various positions relating to military and strategic study. From 2013 to 2014, he

1056-673: The Operation Enduring Freedom ; the International Security Assistance Force , Operation Freedom's Sentinel and the Resolute Support Mission ; Hazara people ; and vulnerable women and minorities, given the treatment of women by the Taliban , gained importance. After the Taliban seized all border crossings, Kabul Airport remained the only secure route out of Afghanistan. After the fall of Herat on 13 August,

1122-631: The Quadrennial Defense Review in 2006. Work's work has focused on defense strategy; proposals to restructure the Department of Defense; and maritime affairs. During the presidential transition of Barack Obama , Work was a member of the Department of Defense Transition Team, focusing on the transition at the United States Department of the Navy . President Barack Obama nominated Work as Under Secretary of

1188-547: The US Intelligence Community estimated that the government of Afghanistan could collapse between six and 12 months after the departure of American troops. Intelligence agencies later reduced the estimation to one month. However, the government collapsed within days, much more rapidly than many anticipated. The Afghan National Army, poorly led and impaired by widespread corruption, was left in chaos, having only two units remained operational by mid-August:

1254-906: The University of Southern California ; an M.S. in Space System Operations from the Naval Postgraduate School ; and a master's degree in International Policy from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University . Work's military service began while he was an undergraduate at the University of Illinois, where he was a member of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps . He

1320-526: The withdrawal of US and NATO forces at the end of the 2001–2021 war in Afghanistan . The Taliban took control of Kabul and declared victory on 15 August 2021 , and the NATO-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan collapsed. With the Taliban controlling the whole city except Hamid Karzai International Airport , hostilities ceased and the Taliban assisted in the evacuation effort by providing security and screening evacuees during

1386-477: The 18th Airborne used a targeting cell with 20 people. In the 2021 Kabul airlift , Maven was used to display the situation on the ground. It could simultaneously display data feeds, such as aircraft movements, logistics, threats and locations of key personnel such as Chris Donahue . In the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , Maven was used to display information on Ukrainian will to resist Russian forces, and locations of Russian equipment. In February 2024, Maven

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1452-792: The Biden administration. Although some countries had previously begun small-scale evacuation efforts in the months leading up to August 2021, such as the American Operation Allies Refuge and the British Operation Pitting , the collapse of the Afghan government occurred sooner than intelligence projections had estimated, and evacuation efforts became more urgent. Several countries launched new evacuation operations, such Canada's Operation AEGIS , India's Operation Devi Shakti , and South Korea's Operation Miracle . The evacuation operations were one of

1518-594: The CSBA's vice president for strategic studies . He also took a position as an adjunct professor at George Washington University , teaching defense analysis and roles and missions of the armed forces. During this period, Work wrote and spoke extensively on naval and marine strategy. He also directed and analyzed war games for the Office of Net Assessment and for the Office of the Secretary of Defense . He participated in

1584-689: The Joint Chiefs – were held by Marines . From 2019 to 2021, Work co-chaired the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence with Eric Schmidt . On March 21, 2013, Robert Work was presented with the Navy Distinguished Public Service Medal , the Department of the Navy's highest award for civilians. At a farewell ceremony in the Pentagon's auditorium on January 13, 2017, outgoing Defense Secretary Carter pinned Work with

1650-717: The Navy and Work was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 19, 2009. Work has criticized former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for assuming that the United States would always have an advantage in guided weapons and, as such, be able to quickly defeat any foe. In July 2011, Work called into question the navy's plans for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II , asking if the numbers or types could be reduced in favor of more unmanned systems. In 2012, after submitting

1716-484: The Netherlands days prior. According to Der Spiegel , on the night of 22 August, nine German KSK special forces operators code named "Blue Light" rescued a Munich family of three from a rendezvous point at a gate outside of Kabul Airport. The family had previously contacted Germany's Federal Foreign Office after several failed attempts to enter the north gate at the airport, but the office initially rejected

1782-474: The Netherlands, and Denmark. The German government announced that it was sending A400M Atlas aircraft with a contingent of paratroopers for evacuations, adding it would not seek the required parliamentary approval for the operation until after the mission was complete. The Italian government was reported to have transferred its embassy staff as well as the families of 30 Afghan employees to Kabul airport under Carabinieri guard to prepare for evacuation. India

1848-548: The Pentagon originally collaborated with Google, but in 2018, Google employees, including Meredith Whittaker , staged walkouts protesting Google's involvement in Project Maven. Subsequently, Google did not renew the contract with Pentagon. Companies that have contributed to the data fusion include Palantir Technologies , Amazon Web Services , ECS Federal, L3Harris Technologies , Maxar Technologies , Microsoft and Sierra Nevada Corporation . The main data-fusion platform

1914-499: The Taliban had blocked 72 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus from boarding an Indian Air Force evacuation flight. Kim Sengupta of The Independent reported that at least four women were crushed to death in a rush on a narrow road leading to the airport. By the afternoon, the US government was advising American citizens not to travel to the airport because of potential risks. On the same day, Indonesia evacuated 26 of its nationals , along with five Filipinos and two Afghan nationals using

1980-707: The US deployed an additional 3,000 troops and the UK deployed 600 troops to Kabul Airport to secure the airlifts of their nationals, embassy staff, and Afghan citizens who worked with coalition forces. US officials said at the time that all of their forces were still expected to leave Afghanistan by 31 August. On 13 August, a memorandum was sent to all staff of the US embassy to reduce "items with embassy or agency logos, American flags or items which could be misused in propaganda efforts". Diplomats were reported to be rapidly destroying classified documents and other sensitive materials. Among

2046-519: The US embassy was taking fire. The embassy issued a declaration instructing US citizens in the area to shelter in place. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the embassy would be relocated to the airport as the DOD had taken over security and air traffic control there. Various other nations had announced plans to evacuate their embassies, including Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom,

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2112-461: The US withdrawal proceeded, the Taliban and allied militant groups began a widespread offensive on 1 May 2021. In the ensuing months, the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan through a combination of negotiating wholesale surrenders of Afghan National Army units and their military offensive, capturing provincial capitals, and expanding their control from 77 districts on 13 April to 104 districts on 16 June to 223 districts on 3 August. In July 2021,

2178-419: The United States (128); the United Kingdom (12); France (6); Canada (5); Germany (4); Italy (3); Australia (3); India (2); Austria (1); Belgium (1); Denmark (1); Netherlands (1); Sweden (1); Spain (1); and Turkey (1). A photograph of over 800 refugees packed into an American C-17 taking off from Kabul was widely shared on social media. French newspaper Le Monde stated that the photo had become "a symbol of

2244-1017: The United States in a conflict. He described Google as hypocritical, given it has opened an AI center in China and said "[a]nything that’s going on in the AI center in China is going to the Chinese government and then will ultimately end up in the hands of the Chinese military. I didn’t see any Google employee saying, ‘Hmm, maybe we shouldn't do that.'" Can the US compete with China? Not without strong patent rights. The Hill , (co-authored with Rama Elluru) 2021 Kabul airlift Timeline Major operations Airstrikes Major insurgent attacks 2002 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Massacres Other Large-scale evacuations of foreign citizens and some vulnerable Afghan citizens took place amid

2310-597: The [Defense] Department". Its chief, U.S. Marine Corps Col. Drew Cukor, said: "People and computers will work symbiotically to increase the ability of weapon systems to detect objects." Project Maven has been noted by allies, such as Australia's Ian Langford , for the ability to identify adversaries by harvesting data from sensors on UAVs and satellite. In 2022, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency took over Project Maven. Project Maven involves data fusion . For data fusion,

2376-489: The aircraft, just below the wing. Others were running alongside "waving and shouting". At least two people, in an apparent attempt to stowaway , were reportedly shown to "fall from the undercarriage immediately after takeoff". Another body was later found in the landing gear of the C-17. One of the victims was identified as Zaki Anwari, who had played for Afghanistan's national youth football team. Three bodies, including that of

2442-408: The airport. US soldiers hovered helicopters low overhead as crowd control, deployed smoke grenades, and occasionally fired warning shots into the air to disperse people attempting to forcefully board aircraft. Video footage emerged showing hundreds of people running alongside a moving United States Air Force C-17A transport plane taxiing toward the runway; some people could be seen clinging onto

2508-411: The airport. Sullivan told reporters that the Taliban were prepared to "provide the safe passage of civilians to the airport, and we intend to hold them to that commitment" while affirming that the withdrawal deadline remained 31 August. Sullivan acknowledged reports of the Taliban physically preventing people from evacuating, but said "By and large, what we have found is that people have been able to get to

2574-420: The airport." On 18 August, it was reported that an Afghan interpreter who had worked for the Australian military had been shot in the leg by the Taliban as he crossed a checkpoint leading to the airport. That same day, it was further reported that the first Australian evacuation flight had departed the airport with only 26 people on board, despite having capacity for over 120. The first German evacuation flight

2640-418: The civilian population as the Taliban seized the capital, with many citizens rushing to their homes or to the airport, which remained under NATO control after the Afghan government dissolved. A chaotic situation developed as thousands of fleeing Afghan civilians rushed to Kabul Airport, with hundreds crowding the apron in an attempt to catch flights out of the city; some had climbed over boundary walls to enter

2706-591: The day prior had also transported a low number of evacuees, taking off with only 7 on board. The Malaysian High Commission in India (which is accredited to Afghanistan) confirmed it had helped a Malaysian citizen return home earlier in the month. It also confirmed that two other Malaysian nationals working for an international relief organisation had opted to remain in Kabul. The High Commission urged remaining Malaysian citizens to register with them for repatriation. On 19 August, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace stated that

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2772-558: The deployment of a small special forces team from the Army Ranger Wing and Irish diplomats to Kabul Airport in order to evacuate Irish citizens. The Canadian government officially confirmed that Canadian special forces had launched operations outside of the airport to help evacuate people. US president Biden said that thus far the Taliban had kept their promises and had not taken any action against US forces controlling Kabul Airport. Meanwhile, CIA Director William Burns held

2838-426: The documents destroyed were the passports of Afghan civilians who had applied for visas. As the Taliban surrounded and began entering Kabul, US Army CH-47 Chinook , UH-60 Black Hawk and State Department Air Wing CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters began landing at the US embassy to carry out evacuations. A convoy of armored sport utility vehicles (SUVs) was seen departing the embassy grounds, and an attack helicopter

2904-488: The escape from the Taliban". Another video went viral on 17 August, where a man attempting to escape the country recorded himself and others clinging onto a C-17 military aircraft. A photograph of a US soldier clutching the furled US embassy flag during the evacuations emerged and was circulated by media outlets. On 17 August, the United States Department of State and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan challenged reports of Afghans and Americans being unable to reach

2970-476: The evacuation flights could not take unaccompanied children after a number of videos posted to social media showed desperate families attempting to convince NATO soldiers to take their children to safety. The Guardian reported that the British government had informed the 125 Afghan guards who had been guarding the British embassy in Kabul that they would not be offered asylum in the UK because they were hired by

3036-489: The evacuations, only the third time in history that the fleet had been activated. By the end of the day, at least 28,000 people had been officially evacuated from Kabul and 13 countries had agreed to temporarily host Afghan refugees awaiting clearance for resettlement in the US, but tens of thousands more foreign nationals and at-risk Afghans remained stuck in Kabul. Also on 22 August, the Dutch defence ministry announced that it

3102-496: The families of people who had worked with the Afghan government and NATO. By 20 August, it was reported that French special forces had rescued 400 civilians from Kabul, including French nationals and Afghan citizens that had aided French forces during the war. British special forces were also reportedly active during the evacuation. On 20 August, it was reported that the National Directorate of Security 's 01 Unit

3168-470: The government would be asking the Americans not to withdraw at the end of the month in an emergency G7 meeting. The Taliban indicated that they would be unwilling to extend the 31 August deadline for American withdrawal. Around 7 a.m. local time, one Afghan guard was killed and three wounded in a firefight between Afghan, American, and German troops and unidentified attackers. Ireland approved

3234-539: The gunmen were not identified. At least 22 Afghan Air Force planes and 24 helicopters carrying 585 Afghan military personnel and their relatives had fled to Uzbekistan . One Afghan Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano crashed after crossing the border, with Uzbek authorities issuing conflicting reports on the cause. Two Afghan military planes carrying over 100 soldiers also landed in the Tajikistan city of Bokhtar . About 8:30 p.m. local time, reports emerged that

3300-551: The investment in a "deliberate workflow process" was funded by the Department [of Defense] through its "rapid acquisition authorities" for about "the next 36 months". According to Lt. Gen. of the United States Air Force Jack Shanahan in November 2017, it is "designed to be that pilot project, that pathfinder, that spark that kindles the flame front of artificial intelligence across the rest of

3366-404: The largest airlifts in history. Between 14 and 25 August, the US alone evacuated about 82,300 people from Hamid Karzai International Airport , including US citizens, Special Immigrant Visa applicants, and other vulnerable Afghans. In total, over 122,000 people were airlifted abroad. The evacuation was completed on August 30, one day before a deadline agreed upon with the Taliban. Following

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3432-456: The lawful valid targets, prioritize, assign them to firing units, and fire. Of these 6 steps, Maven can perform 4. A senior targeting officer estimates that with Maven, he could decide on 80 targets per hour, vs 30 targets per hour without Maven. The efficiency was comparable with the targeting cell used during Operation Iraqi Freedom , but whereas the OIF used a targeting cell with roughly 2000 staff,

3498-632: The mother's evacuation due to her not being a German citizen, before reversing its decision. Over a few days in August, the Royal Australian Air Force completed five evacuation flights, with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) completing another before 23 August. On 23 August, the British government stated that it would not continue evacuations after American forces withdrew from the airport; however,

3564-520: The private security firm GardaWorld . In contrast, GardaWorld guards of the US embassy had already been evacuated. That evening, the Finnish government announced it was preparing to send troops to the airport to assist in the evacuations, with around 60 Finnish citizens still stuck in Kabul. French newspaper Libération obtained a confidential United Nations report that found the Taliban had priority lists of individuals to arrest and were also targeting

3630-551: The report from public websites. When James Mattis became defense secretary in January 2017, he asked Work to remain as deputy in order to complete several tasks, including preparing an amendment for additional funding in fiscal year 2017 and preparing the fiscal year 2018 budget for submittal in May 2017. This may have marked the first time in history when the top three posts at the Pentagon – secretary, deputy secretary, and Chairman of

3696-469: Was commissioned as a second lieutenant of the United States Marine Corps in September 1974. Work spent 27 years in the Marines, holding a variety of positions. He commanded an artillery battery , then an artillery battalion . He rose to become base commander of Camp Fuji ; the first head of the Marine Corps' Strategic Initiatives Group, a small analytical group that provided advice directly to

3762-455: Was deploying more troops to Afghanistan to assist the 62 Dutch special forces personnel at Kabul Airport, where they were operating two C-130 military planes for evacuations. According to Defence Minister Sigrid Kaag , over 700 Dutch citizens in Afghanistan were still waiting to be evacuated, adding that at-risk Afghans that managed to be evacuated could be eligible for asylum . The Dutch embassy's 207 staffers and their families had evacuated to

3828-807: Was diverted and later returned to Dubai , and United Arab Emirates airline Flydubai announced that it would suspend flights to Kabul on 16 August. By 16 August, most other airlines had also announced suspension of flights to Kabul. The Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority announced that it had released Kabul airspace to the military and warned that "any transit through Kabul airspace will be uncontrolled". The US Department of Defense confirmed on 16 August that General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. , commander of United States Central Command , had met with Taliban leaders in Qatar to secure an agreement. The Taliban reportedly agreed to allow American evacuation flights at Kabul Airport to proceed without hindrance. International airlifts of evacuees had resumed by 17 August following

3894-493: Was replaced by Ash Carter the next month, Deputy Secretary Work expressed his concerns that any gain from savings achieved would then be removed from the defense budget by Congress. Under Secretary Frank Kendall III argued that he could not achieve any efficiencies and, instead, that he needed to hire 1,000 more staff. Secretary Carter then replaced the board chairman, classified the McKinsey results as secret, and removed

3960-452: Was reported to have had C-17 transport planes prepared to evacuate Indian diplomatic staff, but had anticipated that it would take longer for the Taliban to capture Kabul. One group of Indian diplomats were escorted to the airport by the Taliban after negotiating the escort after having had their passage out of the Indian embassy blocked several times by the group. Albania said it had accepted

4026-403: Was reportedly seen deploying flares in the area to defend against potential shoot-downs. Along with the embassy personnel, 5,000 US troops and some NATO troops remained in the city. The US government later authorized the deployment of 1,000 more troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the airport, bolstering troop presence in Kabul to 6,000 to facilitate the evacuations. Panic spread among

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4092-756: Was the CEO of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). After his time as Deputy Secretary of Defense, he went on to serve on the board of Raytheon . As of October 2023, he serves on the Special Competitive Studies Project 's board of advisors. Work was born in Charlotte, North Carolina . He attended the University of Illinois and earned a B.S. in Biology . Work later earned an M.S. in Systems Management from

4158-413: Was the only commercial airline that was still operating flights to and from Kabul. The US Department of Defense reported that 21,600 people had been evacuated from Kabul Airport in the preceding 24 hours, reflecting a significant increase in the speed of evacuations ahead of the 31 August withdrawal deadline. The total number of persons evacuated from Afghanistan via the airport in the preceding ten days

4224-413: Was used for live-fire exercises ("Scarlet Dragon exercises"). The first took place at Fort Liberty . An AI system identified a tank in satellite images, the human approved, and the AI system signaled an M142 HIMARS to strike the target (in this case, a decommissioned tank). It was the first AI-enabled artillery strike in the US army. There are 6 steps in the kill chain : identify, locate, filter down to

4290-587: Was used for narrowing targets for airstrikes in Iraq and Syria . It was also used for locating rocket launchers in Yemen and surface vessels in the Red Sea , some of which were destroyed in February 2024 according to CENTCOM . Robert O. Work Robert Orton Work (born January 17, 1953 ) is an American national security professional who served as the 32nd United States Deputy Secretary of Defense for both

4356-424: Was working alongside NATO forces in the airlift as its members refused to surrender to the Taliban. They were scheduled to be airlifted once American troops withdraw. On 21 August, Reuters reported that the World Bank 's Kabul-based staff and their immediate families were safely evacuated among 350 people aboard a special Pakistan International Airlines flight to Islamabad. The Indian Express reported that

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