Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Friday that while Britain would not recognise the Taliban as the new administration in Kabul, it must cope with the new reality in Afghanistan and does not want the country’s social and economic fabric to be ripped apart.

During a visit to Pakistan, he stated that evacuating 15,000 people from Kabul would not have been feasible without some help from the Taliban, who captured the city on Aug. 15.

“We do see the importance of being able to engage and having a direct line of communication,” he said.