Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar reaches Kabul for talks on forming government

KABUL (92 News) – Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar on Saturday reached Kabul for talks with Taliban leaders and other politicians on forming a new government.

According to the Afghan media, he has reached Kabul after arriving in Kandahar three days ago.

Reuters adds: Several NATO countries pressed for evacuations from Kabul to continue beyond the current US deadline of Aug 31 because so many people seeking safe passage following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan are stuck outside the airport.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg described the situation outside Kabul airport as "very dire and difficult". Thousands of foreign nationals and people who may be under threat from the Taliban are desperately trying to get into the airport.

"The US has stated that the timeline ends on Aug 31, but several of our allies raised ... the need to potentially extend that to be able to get more people out," he said after an emergency meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

Stoltenberg said that many of the 30 NATO nations had sent planes to evacuate vulnerable people, but there was more capacity on those aircraft than there were people ready to board them because of the chaos outside the airport.

He again urged the Taliban to allow the safe passage of all foreign nationals and Afghans seeking to leave.

Stoltenberg said earlier this week NATO had "capabilities to strike terrorist groups from a distance" if militant groups try to re-establish themselves in Afghanistan and plan attacks against allied countries.

The alliance still has a diplomatic representation in Kabul. Headquartered in Brussels, it also serves as a forum to coordinate national measures in Afghanistan, such as the evacuation of citizens.