7.27pm EDT
19:27
Taliban official rules out democracy in Afghanistan
Emma Graham-Harrison
Waheedullah Hashimi, a spokesperson for the Taliban, told Reuters that the country was likely to be governed by a ruling Taliban council, while the Islamist militant movement’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, was expected to remain in overall charge, in a role akin to the president.
The power structure that Hashimi outlined would bear similarities to how Afghanistan was run the last time the Taliban were in power from 1996 to 2001. Then, supreme leader Mullah Omar remained in the shadows and left the day-to-day running of the country to a council.
Taliban leadership will meet later this week to discuss and set out the system of governance, but any semblance of democracy has already been ruled out.
“There will be no democratic system at all because it does not have any base in our country,” Hashimi said in an interview with Reuters. “We will not discuss what type of political system should we apply in Afghanistan because it is clear. It is sharia law and that is it.”
Hashimi said Taliban would also ask former pilots and soldiers from the Afghan armed forces to join its ranks. He did not allay fears that this Taliban regime would be as repressive towards women as it was last time they were in power.
“Our ulema [scholars] will decide whether girls are allowed to go to school or not,” he said. “They will decide whether they should wear hijab, burqa, or only [a] veil plus abaya or something, or not. That is up to them.”
7.20pm EDT
19:20
Up to 15,000 Americans remain in Afghanistan after the Taliban took full control of the nation last weekend, AP reports.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier Wednesday that the US military does not have the forces and firepower in Afghanistan to expand its current mission from securing the Kabul airport to collecting Americans and at-risk Afghans elsewhere in the capital and escorting them for evacuation.
The question of whether those seeking to leave the country before Biden’s deadline should be rescued and brought to the airport has arisen amid reports that Taliban checkpoints have stopped some designated evacuees.
“I don’t have the capability to go out and extend operations currently into Kabul,” Austin said. “And where do you take that? How far do you extend into Kabul, and how long does it take to flow those forces in to be able to do that?”
7.16pm EDT
19:16
‘More chaos than ever before’ at Kabul airport – report
ABC senior foreign correspondent Ian Pannell is reporting that there is “more chaos than ever before” at Kabul airport at the moment.
It is currently just before 4am in Afghanistan.
He reports that on the civilian side, the Taliban is “wild and dangerously firing and beating civilians.”
Pannell has posted this video, which we have not verified independently:
7.04pm EDT
19:04
Biden – US troops may stay longer than 31 August to evacuate Americans
US President Joe Biden has just said that troops may stay in the country beyond 31 August to evacuate all Americans, AP reports.Biden said Wednesday that he is committed to keeping US troops in Afghanistan until every American is evacuated, even if that means maintaining a military presence there beyond his 31 August deadline for withdrawal.
He also pushed back against criticism that the U.S. should have done more to plan for the evacuation and withdrawal, which has been marked by scenes of violence and chaos as thousands attempted to flee while the Taliban advanced.
In an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Biden said the US will do “everything in our power” to evacuate Americans and US allies from Afghanistan before the deadline.Pressed repeatedly on how the administration would help Americans left in the nation after 31 August, Biden said, “If there’s American citizens left, we’re gonna stay till we get them all out.”
6.59pm EDT
18:59
Summary
My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest developments from Afghanistan as evacuations continue from Kabul as the Taliban establish rule in the city. You can get in touch with me here.
US President Joe Biden has just said that troops may stay in the country beyond 31 August to evacuate all Americans.
Biden said Wednesday that he is committed to keeping US troops in Afghanistan until every American is evacuated, even if that means maintaining a military presence there beyond his 31 August deadline for withdrawal.
Pressed repeatedly on how the administration would help Americans left in the nation after 31 August said, “If there’s American citizens left, we’re gonna stay till we get them all out.”
Meanwhile Waheedullah Hashimi, a spokesperson for the Taliban, has ruled out democracy in Afghanistan.
“There will be no democratic system at all because it does not have any base in our country,” Hashimi said in an interview with Reuters. “We will not discuss what type of political system should we apply in Afghanistan because it is clear. It is sharia law and that is it.”
We’ll have more on what this means shortly. In the meantime here are the other key developments from the last few hours:
Joe Biden has said he could not see a way to withdraw from Afghanistan without “chaos ensuing”. In an exclusive interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, and the president’s first since the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, President Joe Biden defended his decision to withdraw troops when he did.
Ousted Afghan president Ashraf Ghani confirmed he was in the United Arab Emirates but said he was in “consultation” to return to Afghanistan.
Taliban militants attacked protesters in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday after they dared to take down their banner and replace it with the country’s flag, killing at least one person and fuelling fears about how the insurgents plan to govern.
A senior Taliban commander met a former Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, for talks on Wednesday, as the Taliban worked to establish a government in Afghanistan amid allegations of women and children being beaten and at least three protesters being shot dead.
The United Nations has started moving staff out of Afghanistan while stressing it is still “committed to staying and delivering in support of the Afghan people in their hour of need”.
British media organisations have again urged the government to evacuate Afghan journalists and translators who worked with UK media outlets, with many local staff fearing Taliban reprisals.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday told his Russian and Chinese counterparts that Tehran is ready to cooperate with the two countries to establish “stability and peace” in Afghanistan.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said Turkey was still prepared to protect Kabul airport following the Taliban takeover, and Ankara was talking with all concerned parties.
Britain fears US forces may pull out of Kabul international airport within days, putting it at risk of closure and raising concerns over the emergency airlift of thousands of people from Afghanistan.
Both the Trump and Biden administrations were warned by US intelligence that the Afghan army’s resistance to the Taliban could collapse “within days” after an over-hasty withdrawal, according to a former CIA counter-terrorism chief.
Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers are likely to face a rapidly developing financial crisis, with foreign currency reserves largely unreachable and western aid donors – who fund the country’s institutions by about 75% – already cutting off or threatening to cut payments.
Updated
at 7.26pm EDT
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