Taliban on outskirts of Afghan capital

Kabul -Taliban fighters were on the outskirts of Kabul on Sunday and on the brink of a complete military takeover of Afghanistan, but a spokesman said they had been ordered not to enter the city.

The Taliban´s announcement signalled the insurgents were confident of taking power imminently, as the United States and other nations rushed to evacuate their citizens from the capital.

“The Islamic Emirate instructs all its forces to stand at the gates of Kabul, not to try to enter the city,” a spokesman for the Taliban tweeted.

“Until the completion of the transition process, the responsibility for the security of Kabul is with the other side (the Afghan government)”.

The order came as residents reported seeing insurgents peacefully enter some of Kabul´s outer suburbs, triggering panic and fear.

“I saw police taking off their uniforms and putting on shalwar kameez,” said one resident, referring to traditional South Asian clothing.

The capture of Kabul would cap an astonishing rout of government forces and warlord militias across all of Afghanistan´s major cities achieved in just 10 days.

It would also see the hardline Islamic group take back power two decades after US-led forces toppled it in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The scale and speed of the insurgents advance have shocked Afghans and the US-led alliance that poured billions into the country over the past two decades.

President Ashraf Ghani´s government was left completely isolated on Sunday after the Taliban claimed the anti-Taliban northern stronghold of Mazar-i-Sharif and the eastern city of Jalalabad.

Like with most of the other captured cities, the seizure of power came after government forces surrendered or retreated.
It left the Taliban holding all the cards in any negotiated surrender of the capital.

On Saturday Ghani sought to project authority with a national address in which he spoke of “re-mobilising” the military while seeking a “political solution” to the crisis.

Ghani offered no public comments on Sunday.

– Evacuations –

President Joe Biden ordered the deployment of an additional 1,000 US troops to help secure the emergency evacuation from Kabul of embassy employees and thousands of Afghans who worked for American forces and now fear Taliban reprisals.

That was on top of the 3,000 American soldiers deployed in recent days, and 1,000 left in-country after Biden announced in May that the final withdrawal of the 20-year military presence in Afghanistan would be completed by September 11.

That decision has come under increased scrutiny given the collapse of the Afghan armed forces, but he insisted Saturday there was no choice.

“I was the fourth president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan — two Republicans, two Democrats. I would not, and will not, pass this war onto a fifth,” Biden said.

– Taliban celebration –

Videos posted on pro-Taliban social media accounts showed the group´s heavily armed fighters in cities across the country, waving white flags and greeting locals.

Most of the fighters appeared young, suggesting they were most likely infants or unborn when the Taliban was toppled from power in 2001.
In Mazar-i-Sharif, Taliban fighters quickly took charge on Sunday.

“They are parading on their vehicles and motorbikes, firing into the air in celebration,” said Atiqullah Ghayor, who lives near the city´s famed blue mosque.

Warlords Abdul Rashid Dostum and Atta Mohammad Noor, who had led a militia resistance in the city to support government forces, had fled to Uzbekistan, about 30 kilometres to the north, an aide to Noor said.

– Panic –

As the Taliban closed in on the capital, panicked residents swarmed banks for a second-straight day, hoping to withdraw their savings.
Many were already resigned to the Taliban taking power.

“My only wish is that their return leads to peace. That is all we want,” said Kabul shopkeeper Tariq Nezami.

For the tens of thousands who have sought refuge in Kabul in recent weeks, the overwhelming mood was one of apprehension and fear.

One doctor who arrived in the capital with his 35-strong family from Kunduz said he planned to return today.

“I am worried there will be a lot of fighting here. I would rather return home, where I know it has stopped,” he told AFP, asking not to be named.