Taliban, Afghan gov’t in talks on peaceful transfer of power.

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Taliban, Afghan gov’t in talks on peaceful transfer of power

Taliban fighters have surrounded the capital but promised not to attack as talks got under way.

 

In a nationwide offensive in the past week, the Taliban has defeated, co-opted, or sent Afghan security forces fleeing from wide swaths of the country [AFP]

 

By Ramy Allahoum

15 Aug 2021

 

The Taliban and Afghan government officials are in negotiations for a peaceful transfer of power after fighters encircled the capital Kabul.

Taliban troops surrounded Afghanistan’s seat of power on Sunday but promised not to attack as handover talks were under way.

 

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Afghanistan: As Taliban attacks continue, people rush to Kabul

The group said it has instructed its fighters to refrain from violence and offer safe passage to anyone wishing to leave Kabul.

“Until the completion of the transition process, the responsibility for the security of Kabul is with the other side (the Afghan government),” a spokesman for the group said in a tweet.

The Afghan government soon after signalled there were negotiations under way to avoid bloodshed in Kabul and to transition power.

Here are all the latest updates:

 

8 mins ago (12:01 GMT)

Taliban expects peaceful transition of power in days

Suhail Shaheen, international media spokesman for the Taliban, said the group expects a peaceful transition of power in the next few days.

“We assure the people, particularly in the city of Kabul, that their properties, their lives are safe,” the spokesman said in an interview with the BBC.

“Our leadership had instructed our forces to remain at the gates of Kabul, not to enter the city.

“We are awaiting a peaceful transfer of power,” he said, adding the Taliban expected that to happen in a matter of days.

 

Afghan security officials stand guard at a checkpoint in Kabul [EPA-EFE]

 

14 mins ago (11:54 GMT)

Pakistan closely following developments in Afghanistan: foreign ministry spokesman

Pakistan said it was closely monitoring the situation in Afghanistan and making all the necessary arrangements to facilitate the evacuation of its citizens and foreign nationals from the country.

 

“Pakistan is closely following the unfolding situation in Afghanistan. Pakistan will continue to support the efforts for political settlement. We hope all Afghan sides will work together to resolve this internal political crisis,” foreign ministry spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said.

“The Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul is extending necessary assistance to Pakistanis, Afghan nationals and diplomatic and international community for consular work and coordination of PIA flights.”

“A special inter-ministerial cell has been established in the Ministry of Interior to facilitate visa/arrival matters for diplomatic personnel, UN agencies, international organisations, media and others.”

 

Internally displaced families from northern provinces, who fled from their homes due to the fighting between Taliban and Afghan security forces, take shelter in a public park in Kabul [Hedayatullah Amid/EPA-EFE]

 

48 mins ago (11:21 GMT)

US unlikely to change military strategy unless evacuation impacted: official

The United States is unlikely to change its military strategy in Kabul unless the Taliban impact the evacuation of the embassy, a US official said.

 

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the United States had not yet seen the Taliban enter Kabul in a major way.

 

1 hour ago (10:41 GMT)

Pope Francis urges dialogue in Afghanistan

Pope Francis has called for dialogue to end the conflict in Afghanistan so its people can live in peace, security and reciprocal respect.

“I join in the unanimous worry about the situation in Afghanistan. I ask you to pray along with me to the God of peace so that the din of weapons ends and that solutions can be found around a table of dialogue,” he said to pilgrims and tourists in St Peter’s Square.

“Only this way can the martyred population of that country – men, women, elderly and children – return to their homes and live in peace and security in full reciprocal respect,” he said.

 

2 hours ago (10:17 GMT)

UK parliament to be recalled next week to discuss Afghanistan

The British parliament will be recalled from its summer recess next week to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, Sky News reported.

Taliban fighters and local people sit on an Afghan National Army vehicle on a street in Jalalabad [AFP]

 

2 hours ago (10:11 GMT)

President Ghani still in Afghanistan: Source

A source close to President Ashraf Ghani has denied reports that he has fled the country, saying the president spent most of the morning in the garden of the ARG Presidential Palace with the first lady.

 

2 hours ago (10:01 GMT)

Afghanistan will have a ‘peaceful transfer of power’: interior minister

Afghan Minister of the Interior Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal says there will be a “peaceful transfer of power” to a transitional government after the Taliban ordered its fighters to hold back from entering Kabul.

“The Afghan people should not worry… There will be no attack on the city and there will be a peaceful transfer of power to the transitional government,” he said in a recorded speech.

 

Mirzakwal said talks were under way to ensure a peaceful transfer of power [Afghan interior ministry via Reuters]

 

2 hours ago (09:56 GMT)

Russia says emergency UN meeting on Afghanistan is planned

Russia is working with other countries to hold an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan as the Taliban continues its military takeover of the country, foreign ministry official Zamir Kabulov told Russian news agencies.

“We are working on this,” Kabulov said.

 

2 hours ago (09:43 GMT)

Calm reigns in Kabul as Taliban, gov’t prepare to hold talks

The panic in the city of Kabul seems to have largely dissipated as most residents return to their homes and the heavy traffic clears.

The Taliban stated that they will not take Kabul by force and the Ministry of Interior confirmed that the armed group was at the city’s gates but not the main city itself.

 

Likewise, officials have told media a peaceful transition of power is expected, as the Taliban had previously stated.

The Taliban have said that they do not plan to take the capital city by force [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]

 

3 hours ago (09:22 GMT)

UK says it is working to evacuate citizens, former staff

Britain is working to protect its citizens and help other eligible former UK staff to leave Afghanistan, the interior ministry said in a tweet.

“Home Office (interior ministry) officials are right now working to protect British nationals and help former UK staff and other eligible people travel to the UK.”

3 hours ago (09:13 GMT)

Taliban spokesman: Group has not yet entered Kabul

Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s international media spokesman, told Al Jazeera that the group has not just yet entered Kabul city and is counting on the government’s cooperation for the peaceful transfer of power.

“There will be essential arrangement for the maintenance of security of the city so that personal property … is not harmed.

“A local province which is close to Kabul has fallen to us, and also other districts near Kabul. [Our forces] are a few kilometres away from the outskirts of the city.”

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3 hours ago (08:56 GMT)

Taliban source confirms group has entered Kabul

A Taliban source has confirmed to Al Jazeera that the group has entered the province of Kabul.

“He said that the leadership is asking everybody to be calm, that they come with a message of peace,” said Al Jazeera’s Charlotte Bellis, reporting from Kabul.

“He said that we have no intention of fighting, that government buildings are safe, and that they have been instructed that if anybody does want to leave the city, that they should be given safe passage.”

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4 hours ago (08:20 GMT)

Taliban leadership says Afghan capital will not be taken by force

The Taliban have released a statement online saying they have instructed their forces not to cross the gates of Kabul and take the city by force.

Instead, they say, “negotiations are under way to ensure that the transition process is completed safely and securely, without compromising the lives, property and honour of anyone, and without compromising the lives of Kabulis.”

They also released another statement trying to reassure banks, merchants and other entrepreneurs that their property, money and institutions will not be disturbed by the armed group.

Despite the online assurances, people continue to leave the city streets and try to find ways to head home.

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4 hours ago (08:15 GMT)

Senior government official urges calm

President Ghani’s chief of staff has taken to Twitter to urge the people of Kabul: “Please don’t worry. There is no problem. The situation of Kabul is under control.”

The tweet comes as the Taliban have entered Kabul province and surrounded the Afghan capital.

Ghani has not been heard from since he gave a short, pre-recorded address to the nation Saturday afternoon.

Taliban fighters and local people are pictured along the street in Jalalabad province [AFP] (AFP)

 

4 hours ago (08:02 GMT)

Taliban begin entering Kabul: Afghan interior ministry

The Taliban have begun entering the Afghan capital Kabul from all sides, the Afghan interior ministry said.

A Taliban leader in Doha said the group ordered its fighters to refrain from violence and allow safe passage to anyone seeking to leave, and has asked women to head to “protected areas”.