Amid reports of the Taliban entering capital Kabul, negotiators for the militant group now thought to be in the Afghan presidential palace preparing for a “peaceful transfer of power”, reports The Independent.
President Ashraf Ghani is reportedly in the process of relinquishing power before an interim government, led by the Taliban, is formed, an official told the AP news agency.
It comes as Taliban militants released a statement on Sunday to say they did not have any plans to take the Afghan capital by force. “No one’s life, property and dignity will be harmed and the lives of the citizens of Kabul will not be at risk,” Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman, said.
Meanwhile, arrangements are said to be in the making for Sir Laurie Bristow, the British ambassador to Afghanistan, to be airlifted out of the country by Monday evening. The diplomat had been rumoured to stay put in Kabul International Airport but, according to a report in The Sunday Telegraph, officials decided Sir Laurie should return to the UK.
Acting Afghan Interior Minister Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal said that Kabul will not be attacked and that they will shift power peacefully to a transitional administration, though he did not say what a transitional government may look like, according to CNN.
In an on-camera video statement carried by Afghan news agency TOLO, he assured Kabul residents that security forces would secure the city.
Around the same time on Sunday, the Taliban issued a statement saying it was in talks with "the opposing side" for a peaceful surrender of the capital.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah said that all fighters had been instructed to be on standby at all entrances to Kabul until a peaceful and satisfactory transfer of power was agreed. They were also instructed about the lives, dignity and belongings of the residents of Kabul, and about not creating any danger or discomfort to them.
The security of the capital was the responsibility of the government and they should guarantee it, Zabihullah added.
