The Taliban have entered the outskirts of the Afghan capital Kabul after taking control of Mazar-e-Sharif and Jalalabad. However, acting Afghan Interior Minister Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal has said that Kabul will not be attacked and the transfer of power to the Taliban will take place peacefully.
A report by Sky News said that a Taliban leader has ordered militants not to use violence in their takeover of the capital. A Taliban spokesman has reportedly said that they were in talks with the Afghan government ‘for a peaceful surrender’ of Kabul.
According to the BBC, Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani is holding emergency talks with US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and other top Nato officials, reports say. The meetings are being held amid reports that the Taliban are at the gates of the capital Kabul.
This came hours after Taliban fighters were seen parading in trucks on the streets of Jalalabad as they captured the eastern Afghan city, apparently without a struggle.
Meanwhile, the US and the UK have begun making frantic efforts to evacuate their nationals. About 600 British troops are reportedly being deployed to help the departure of UK nationals and others.
US President Joe Biden has defended his country’s decision to leave Afghanistan, saying that he could not justify an ‘endless American presence.’ The Taliban would have complete control of Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul.
LIVE UPDATES:
22:45- Nobody should bilaterally recognise the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan: British PM Boris Johnson to Sky News
22:30– British troops arrive in Kabul to help the operation to evacuate British embassy staff.
20:00– Shooting is being reported in several parts of Kabul, reports BBC quoting news agency Reuters.
19:55- NBC correspondent Richard Engel says he has seen armed Taliban fighters amidst reports of President Ashraf Ghani leaving the country.
Seeing Taliban fighters on streets in kabul now. Armed.
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) August 15, 2021
19:50- Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has left the country, reports the Associated Press news agency. Ghani reportedly left with his national security adviser, Hamdullah Mohib, and another aide.
17:50 – People in Kabul have begun fleeing the Afghan capital as news of the Taliban’s entry emerges. According to BBC, long queues of cars have formed as people try to find a way out of the city. Banks have also been busy as residents try to withdraw their savings.
Pakistan has closed the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan after the Taliban seized the Afghan side of the border. This means that Afghans wishing to leave the country now only can do so from the Kabul International Airport.
16:50– British broadcaster Sky News reports that Taliban militants have entered the Afghan capital Kabul and a government official has said fighters from the militant group are heading to the presidential palace to prepare for a “transfer” of power