Afghanistan live news CIA director met Taliban leader in Kabul reports say amid doubts over evacuation extension

The G7 meeting, which will see leaders discuss the possibility of extending the US evacuation deadline as well as whether to recognise or sanction the Taliban, is scheduled to begin soon.

Here is a roundup of today’s major developments so far:

The UK defence secretary Ben Wallace said it is “unlikely” the evacuation of Kabul will be extended beyond the 31 August deadline. Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat also stressed that any agreement would depend on a Taliban agreement as well â€" the chances of which appear slim.

The Taliban will accept no extensions to the evacuation deadline, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. Mujahid reiterated that the group wants all foreign evacuations completed by 31 August.

The EU has evacuated all its staff and their families from Afghanistan, apart from some officials working at Kabul airport, a spokesperson for the European Commission said.

The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the EU will increase its humanitarian aid for Afghans from €50m (£43m) to more than €200m (£171m). Reuters reports that an EU official said that the aid will be conditional on the respect of human and women’s rights.

China said that imposing sanctions on the Taliban would be “counterproductive” ahead of the G7 meeting where leaders will discuss whether to recognise or sanction the group. Beijing has kept open its embassy in Kabul and sought to maintain friendly relations with the Taliban.

Pakistan also called for an inclusive political settlement with the Taliban, with the foreign minister describing it as the best way forward for peace and stability in Afghanistan. Shah Mahmood Qureshi is reported to have made the remarks in a phone call with his Russian counterpart.

The top US spy, CIA director William Burns, met secretly with the head of the Taliban on Monday in Kabul, in the highest-level diplomatic encounter since the militant group took over. According to the Washington Post, the pair are likely to have discussed the impending 31 August deadline for the US military to conclude its airlift.

My colleague Matthew Weaver will be here shortly to bring you the latest updates from the G7 meeting. Thank you.

The Taliban will accept no extensions to the evacuation deadline and want all foreign evacuations completed by 31 August, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has said.

The statement comes ahead of the G7 emergency meeting this afternoon, where one of the key topics under discussion will be whether the US will extend its deadline.

Mujahid said: “31 August is the time given and after that it’s something that is against the agreement. All people should be removed prior to that date. After that we do not allow them, it will not be allowed in our country, we will take a different stance.”

It comes after the Taliban warned continuing the airlift from Kabul beyond the end of the month was a “red line”.

Airbnb will help house up to 20,000 Afghan refugees, the company has announced, as part of its Airbnb.org charitable arm.

The company will coordinate with Airbnb hosts who want to offer their homes to refugees for free, or at a discounted rate, with the charitable organisation picking up the rest of the bill, as well as any other operational expenditures. The Airbnb co-founder and chief executive, Brian Chesky, will also fund the effort.

The company has not confirmed where, or for how long, it will house refugees, calling the situation “fast evolving”.

Groups representing hundreds of British humanitarian NGOs have called on G7 leaders to provide safe passage to Afghans whose lives are at risk.

They also warned against allowing foreign policy agendas, including the possibility of sanctions, to block the delivery of aid to Afghans affected by the crisis.

Elizabeth Winter, executive director at British & Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group (BAAG) said the priority was showing solidarity to Afghan who are in danger. She said: “The UK’s offer to resettle just 5,000 Afghans this year is inadequate and lacks the urgency needed to help the many thousands of people at risk. It also sends an unhelpful message to other nations, including other G7 states, and countries neighbouring Afghanistan.”

Stephanie Draper, the head of Bond, the UK network for organisations working in international development also warned about the risk that sanctions carry, saying: “Such interventions aimed at preventing funds flowing to proscribed armed groups have previously impeded or even prevented the delivery of life-saving aid and protection for vulnerable people. This work is never easy given the changing political, environmental and security situation. We urge those with power to support and enable, not obstruct our vital work.”

The US military has pulled off its biggest day of evacuation flights from Afghanistan since the operation began, despite deadly violence persisting on routes to the airport.

The Associated Press reported that a US official has confirmed that The CIA director, William Burns, secretly swooped into Kabul on Monday to meet with the Taliban’s top political leader, following a report in the Washington Post earlier today.

The Associated Press reports:

About 21,600 people were flown safely out of Taliban-held Afghanistan in the 24-hour period that ended early Tuesday, the White House said.

Thirty-seven US military flights â€" 32 C-17s and 5 C-130s â€" carried approximately 12,700 evacuees. Another 8,900 people flew out aboard 57 flights by US allies.

Pentagon chief spokesman John Kirby said Monday the faster pace of evacuation was partly due to coordination with Taliban commanders on getting evacuees into the airport.

With access still difficult, the US military went beyond the airport to carry out another helicopter retrieval of Americans. US officials said a military helicopter picked up 16 American citizens Monday and brought them onto the airfield for evacuation. This was at least the second such rescue mission beyond the airport; Kirby said that last Thursday, three Army helicopters picked up 169 Americans near a hotel just beyond the airport gate and flew them onto the airfield.

President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said at the White House that talks with the Taliban are continuing as the administration looks for additional ways to safely move more Americans and others into the Kabul airport by an end-of-August deadline.

A UK Foreign Office minister responsible for Afghanistan has urged the Taliban to allow “the safe and orderly departure” of those who wish to leave the country.

PA reports:

Lord Ahmad, the minister directly responsible for south Asia, including Afghanistan, told a special meeting of the UN Human Rights Council: “The Taliban need to make a political decision to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. And they must understand that they will be held accountable if they do fail to do so.”

He said: “We urge the Taliban to allow the safe and orderly departure of foreign nationals, and those who wish to leave Afghanistan.”

Ahmad, who is also the minister responsible for human rights, added: “We also call for a co-ordinated and concerted effort from the international community to address the humanitarian emergency, which has been exacerbated by famine, Covid and internal displacement.”

Communities built on social media are valuable fundraising tools for the Taliban and crucial to recruitment, according to politics academic Weeda Mehran, who argues in today’s opinion section that they are not just used for spreading propaganda.

Russia, China, the United States and Pakistan are interested in serving as middlemen in resolving the crisis in Afghanistan, according to the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.

Lavrov added that Russia opposed the ideas of allowing Afghan refugees to enter the ex-Soviet region of central Asia - located between Russia and Afghanistan - or having United States troops deployed there, according to a report from Reuters.

Rachel Hall here on the blog - please do send over tips to rachel.hall@theguardian.com.

The Turkish foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, has said the country has evacuated 1,404 people from Afghanistan, including 1,061 Turkish nationals.

The other 343 are nationals from “various countries”, the AP quotes him as saying.

Çavuşoğlu said there were 4,500 Turkish nationals in Afghanistan but only around 200 were still waiting to be evacuated.

“We have contacted each one of them. ... An important number of them said they did not want to return,” Cavusoglu said, explaining that they included people who had businesses or jobs in Afghanistan or were married to Afghans. “We of course, respect their decision but we have also made the necessary suggestions and warnings,” he said.

The top US spy, CIA director William Burns, met secretly with the head of the Taliban on Monday in Kabul, in the highest-level diplomatic encounter since the militant group took over.

According to a report in the Washington Post, unnamed US officials said Burns met the Taliban leader, Abdul Ghani Baradar, as the Biden administration continued efforts to evacuate US citizens and other allies amid chaos at the airport in Kabul.

While the CIA declined to comment on the Taliban meeting, the report speculated that the likely subject of discussion was the impending 31 August deadline for the US military to conclude its airlift.

The meeting took place as the UN’s top human rights official described credible reports of serious human rights violations committed by the Taliban in Afghanistan, including summary executions of civilians, restrictions on women and limitations on protests against their rule.

The EU has evacuated all its staff and their families from Afghanistan, apart from some officials working at Kabul airport, a spokesperson for the European Commission has said.

“All the staff who needed to be evacuated have been evacuated,” he told journalists in Brussels. “We still have a core presence at the airport in order to manage what needs to managed, but the staff of the EU delegation and their families have all been evacuated.”

Ahead of this afternoon’s emergency G7 meeting, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, has this analysis on the concerns each country is likely to bring to the table.

Joe Biden, who is under pressure to keep the airport evacuation open a few days longer, could also face questions on how to prevent Afghanistan becoming a base for international terrorism.

Boris Johnson will seek an extension from Biden, but accepts the airlift ends when US forces leave.

France is likely to back set conditions on international recognition of the Taliban.

Italy backs a deadline extension, but, like France, feels the past weeks must mark a turning point for EU defence.

Germany has been offering cash to try to persuade Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries to take in refugees, and is talking to the Taliban about opening land routes.

The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has not joined the criticism of Biden’s handling of the issue, and has pledged to take 21,000 refugees.

Tokyo fears that the withdrawal reflects a growing US isolationism.

The CIA director, William Burns, held a secret meeting with the Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday, according to a report in the Washington Post which cites anonymous US officials.

This is the highest level diplomatic encounter since the Taliban seized control of Kabul, and comes ahead of G7 discussions over whether to recognise the militant group, as well as pressure on the US to extend its withdrawal deadline.

Airbnb has said it will begin offering temporary housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees around the world for free.

The company’s CEO, Brian Chesky, said the decision was taken in response to “one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time” and that the firm felt a “responsibility to step up”.

Chesky added: “I hope this inspires other business leaders to do the same. There’s no time to waste.”

The statement did not say how long refugees would be housed for, but a spokesperson for the company said that the Airbnb Host community “is able to provide both short-term and long-term stays”.

A Ukrainian minister has claimed a passenger jet meant to evacuate people fleeing Afghanistan to Ukraine was hijacked at gunpoint and flown instead to Iran, in an unconfirmed incident that was later denied by his own government.

A Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson later denied the claim, telling the local internet television station, Hromadske, that Yenin was trying to describe the difficulties faced by Ukrainian pilots during the evacuation of Kabul.

The UN world food programme (WFP) has urged the international community to donate $200m in food aid for Afghanistan, warning that “further delay could be deadly”.

“WFP is warning that a humanitarian catastrophe awaits the people of Afghanistan this winter unless the international community makes their lives a priority,” Anthea Webb, WFP deputy regional director for Asia and Pacific, told a UN briefing.

She underlined the importance of timely action, saying “once the snow sets in it is simply too late” as mountain passages will be blocked. “Any further delay could be deadly,” she said.

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, discussed the situation in Afghanistan in a phone call with Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The leaders agreed to establish a permanent channel for bilateral consultations on Afghan developments, it said.

Here is an analysis on the effect the US withdrawal will have on the influence of regional powers, including Russia:

The World Health Organization only has enough supplies in Afghanistan to last for one week, a senior regional official has said.

The WHO is also concerned that the chaos following the Taliban takeover could lead to a rise in Covid-19 infections, Ahmed Al-Mandhari told a press briefing.

It follows a statement from the WHO on Monday saying that more than 500 tonnes of medical supplies were unable to reach Afghanistan due to the restrictions at Kabul airport.

China’s ambassador to the UN has called for the US army and its military partners to be held accountable for alleged rights violations in Afghanistan.

Speaking at an emergency session of the Human Rights Council on Afghanistan, Chen Xus said: “The US, UK, Australia and other countries must be held accountable for the violation of human rights committed by their military in Afghanistan and the evolution of this current session should cover this issue.

“Under the banner of democracy and human rights the US and other countries carry out military interventions in other sovereign states and impose their own model on countries with vastly different history and culture,” he said.

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