Taliban fighters enter Kabul: Negotiations are underway for peaceful transfer of city
Taliban fighters enter Kabul: awaiting peaceful transfer of city
Negotiations are underway at the Afghan presidential palace to transfer power to the Taliban.Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the Afghan Reconciliation Council (HCNR), is mediating the case.
Ali Ahmad Jalali will be head of interim government. Ali Ahmad Jalali is also a former Interior Minister of Afghanistan. He has also served as the Afghan Ambassador to Germany.
On the other hand, a Taliban official in Doha, the capital of Qatar, said that Taliban leader Mullah Baradar was preparing to visit Afghanistan.
CNN reported that eight or nine representatives of the Taliban’s delegations from Qatar are currently inside the Afghan presidential palace, a source there tells CNN.
Among them is Anas Haqqani, brother of the deputy Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, the source added.
Taliban fighters entered the outskirts of the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday and said they were awaiting a peaceful transfer of the city after promising not to take it by force.
Latest reports said Ashraf Ghani has agreed to step down, Afghan media say Ali Ahmad Jalali will be appointed head of the new interim government.
Due uncertainty, panicked workers fled government offices and helicopters landed at the United States Embassy.
In an offensive that took just over a week, the Taliban defeated, co-opted or sent Afghan security forces fleeing from wide swaths of the country, even though they had some air support from the US military.
Many questions are raised about why Afghan forces crumbled despite years of US training and billions of dollars spent.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Qatar’s Al-Jazeera English satellite news channel that the insurgents are “awaiting a peaceful transfer of Kabul city”. He declined to offer specifics on any possible negotiations between his forces and the government.
International media reported that Taliban negotiators headed to the presidential palace on Sunday to discuss the transfer, said an Afghan official who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. It remained unclear when that transfer would take place.
Acting Defense Minister Bismillah Khan sought to reassure the public in a video message:
“Authority has been given to a delegation that will be going to Qatar tomorrow to reach an agreement on Afghanistan,” he said. “I assure you about the security of Kabul.”
Earlier, the insurgents also tried to calm residents of the capital.
“No one’s life, property and dignity will be harmed and the lives of the citizens of Kabul will not be at risk,” the insurgents said in a statement.
Negotiations are underway
Negotiations are underway at the Afghan presidential palace to transfer power to the Taliban.Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the Afghan Reconciliation Council (HCNR), is mediating the case.
Ali Ahmad Jalali is also a former Interior Minister of Afghanistan. He has also served as the Afghan Ambassador to Germany.
On the other hand, a Taliban official in Doha, the capital of Qatar, said that Taliban leader Mullah Baradar was preparing to visit Afghanistan.
(Monitoring Desk)
Pakistan monitoring the situation in Afghanistan
Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez said that the situation in Afghanistan is changing rapidly, we are monitoring the situation in Afghanistan.
The Foreign Office spokesman said that there was concern over the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, no decision had been taken to close the embassy, and that diplomatic efforts should continue to resolve the Afghan issue.
Zahid Hafeez said that the situation in Afghanistan needs immediate attention of the world. Pakistan has always said that there is no military solution to the Afghan problem but a peaceful solution needs to be found.
“We are deeply concerned about the security situation in Afghanistan. We do not want a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan,” he added
Some countries taking steps to repatriate diplomatic staff
Some countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, are taking steps to repatriate their citizens and diplomatic staff to Afghanistan.
Russia has said it has no immediate plans to withdraw its diplomatic staff from Kabul.
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