Pakistan is aiding Denmark in evacuation from Afghanistan: Danish Foreign minister

Denmark’s foreign minister, Jeppe Kofod, said on Monday afternoon that Pakistan was helping the Danish government evacuate the remaining Danish citizens and local employees who have worked for the embassy and armed forces. 

“I won’t go into the minute details, but I’m happy that, together with Pakistan, we have managed to establish a highly operational framework in our work to evacuate [staff] from Afghanistan,” he said. “It’s cooperation which we place a high value on from the Danish side.” 

On Monday, Pakistan’s foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said on Twitter that he had spoken to Kofod on the issue. 

Pakistan looks forward to our next round of Bilateral Political Consultations with #Denmark 🇩🇰and I extended an invitation to FM @JeppeKofod to host him in #Pakistan 🇵🇰.

— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) August 16, 2021

According to Flightradar24, there are currently two SAS flights en route from Copenhagen to Islamabad, and one flight from DAT arrived in Islamabad on Monday afternoon. 

Danish PM: ‘Situation in Afghanistan is catastrophic’

Danish PM Mette Frederiksen has described the situation in Afghanistan as “catastrophic”, as the country rushes to evacuate the last Danish citizens and local employees from the country. 

“The situation isn’t just serious, it is catastrophic,” she said on Monday morning as she welcomed Denmark’s new Culture Minister. “We are working around the clock and you can see the pictures from Kabul airport yourself. It has been a very dramatic day.” 

Number of Danish Covid-19 patients hits two-month high

The number of people being treated in hospital for coronavirus in Denmark has risen to 117, the highest number since June 10th, the SSI infectious diseases agency said on Monday afternoon. 

At the same time, there were 959 new infections registered in the 24 hours to 2pm on Monday, at the higher end of the range of 700-1,000 daily cases seen so far in August. 

Svend Ellermann-Eriksen, a doctor at Aarhus University Hospital, said that it was positive that the return of Danish children to school last week had not led to a noticeable spike in infections, but said the rise in hospitalisations was worth keeping an eye on. 

“If the number continues to rise, then we should start to get worried, but right now the number in relatively stable.” 

Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen appointed new Danish culture minister 

Denmark’s education and research minister Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen has been appointed Denmark’s new culture minister, after her predecessor Joy Mogensen said she was resigning. 

“This is a sign that Mette Frederiksen thinks that a stronger minister is needed, or at least a minister who is more reliable and has a stronger ideological foundation than has been the case with Joy Mogensen,” said Jens Ringberg, DR’s political commentator. “She is part of a small circle of ideologically strong and younger Social Democrats, whom Mette Frederiksen has great confidence in.” 

Jesper Petersen will in turn replace Halsboe-Jørgensen as education and research minister.