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| Following the chaotic US withdrawal this summer, Mr. Khalili called upon Mr. Biden to save him, his wife, and five children. "I trust him," he told CNN. "I trust that he can do everything."Mr Khalili (third from right) and his family. (Photo by=SAFI RAUF/HUMAN FIRST COALITION) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] An Afghan interpreter who helped rescue then-senator, Joe Biden, from the harsh Afghanistan countryside has managed to leave the region with his family. BBC reported that in 2008, a blizzard forced a military helicopter carrying Mr. Biden and other US lawmakers to land in a snowy valley where they were vulnerable to ambush.
Aman Khalili was among the Afghan employees of the US government that drove the group to safety. Since August, he had been appealing for help overcoming visa issues to leave. He now joins thousands of Afghans who have fled the country to escape living under Taliban rule. On Monday, a representative for the US State Department told BBC News that Mr. Khalili and his family had "safely departed Afghanistan and subsequently initiated onward travel from Pakistan".
Thirteen years after his chance encounter with the future president - as well as senators Chuck Hagel and John Kerry, Mr Khalili was struggling to secure his US Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) to flee Afghanistan. The Human First Coalition, an organization helping to rescue over 200 Afghans now in Pakistan, told the BBC they were "deeply grateful" to US and Pakistani officials for helping "in our efforts to bring President Biden's interpreter and his family to safety".
