UK says deadline for Afghanistan evacuation is to the last minute of Aug. 31

LONDON: British foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Wednesday that the deadline for evacuating people from Afghanistan was up to the last minute of this month.

Raab was asked after a White House spokesperson said at a briefing on Tuesday they needed to check if the deadline for evacuations was up to the last minute of Aug. 30 or Aug. 31.

"We think it goes until the end of August, but the military planners will firm up the details for the precise time frame," Raab told BBC TV.

NATO pledges to speed evacuations from Afghanistan as criticism mounts

Raab said Britain hoped there would be a functioning airport in Kabul after the evacuations end.