ASHRAF GHANI ON THE RUN AS US EXITS FROM KABUL REFRESHES MEMORIES OF EXIT FROM SAIGON
Pakistan closely watch unfolding situation in Afghanistan
Islamabad Telegraph Report
Kabul: Taliban seized control of Kabul on Sunday without firing a bullet. With seizure of Kabal, Taliban announced later on Sunday that they have taken control of Afghanistan.
Driving Hummers and other modern vehicles which were left behind by the US-led International forces, fighters of Taliban entered Kabul, Afghanistan Capital late in the morning on Sunday. Interestingly, they didn’t face resistance from Afghanistan forces. Eye witnesses said Afghanistan forces welcomed Taliban and surrendered before them while standing in queues.
“It looked like Ashraf Ghani led government surrendered before Taliban willingly. Taliban took over without even firing a single bullet,” Abdullah Karzai, Kabul based journalist told Islamabad telegraph.
On Sunday, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Qatar’s Al-Jazeera English satellite news channel that the Taliban are “awaiting a peaceful transfer of Kabul city”. He declined to offer specifics on any possible negotiations between his forces and the government.
But when pressed on what kind of agreement the Taliban wanted, Shaheen acknowledged that they were seeking an unconditional surrender by the central government.
Taliban spokesman Mujahid said the group was in talks with the Western-backed government for a peaceful surrender. “Taliban fighters are to be on standby on all entrances of Kabul until a peaceful and satisfactory transfer of power is agreed,” he said in a statement.
Ali Ahmad Jalali, a US-based academic and former Afghan interior minister, could be named head of an interim administration in Kabul, three diplomatic sources said, though it was unclear whether the Taliban had agreed.
For his part, Afghanistan’s Interior Minister Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal said the government will enter into talks with the Taliban for the peaceful transition of power.
In a video statement shared on Twitter, Mirzakwal said, “As the Minister of Interior of Afghanistan, I ordered all security forces, special forces and other personnel to continue their duties in different places to ensure the security of the city. Our people should not worry. There is no security problem in the city at the moment.”
He underlined that Kabul remains under government control and that the Taliban would not attack the city, adding that the transition of power would also happen peacefully for a transitional government to be set up.
Meanwhile, Taliban negotiators headed to the presidential palace to discuss the transfer, said an Afghan official who spoke on condition of anonymity. It remained unclear when that transfer would take place.
The negotiators on the government side included former president Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council, an official said. Abdullah has long been a vocal critic of Ghani, who has refused giving up power to get a deal with the Taliban.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the closed-doors negotiations, described them as “tense”.
Meanwhile, acting Defence Minister Bismillah Khan sought to reassure the public in a video message.
“Authority has been given to a delegation that will be going to Doha (Qatar) tomorrow to reach an agreement on Afghanistan,” he said. “I assure you about the security of Kabul.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan on Sunday said it was “closely following the unfolding situation” in Afghanistan, and would continue to support the efforts for a political settlement.
“We hope all Afghan sides will work together to resolve this internal political crisis,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.