Meanwhile, Afghans and foreigners alike raced for the exit, signaling the end of a 20-year Western experiment aimed at remaking Afghanistan.
The beleaguered central government, meanwhile, hoped for an interim administration but increasingly had few cards to play. Civilians fearing that the Taliban could reimpose the kind of brutal rule that all but eliminated women’s rights rushed to leave the country, lining up at cash machines to withdraw their life savings.
In a statement, the Taliban welcomed their “victory” and said they were not going to attack the Afghan capital, according to a BBC reporter.
Taliban negotiators headed to the presidential palace to discuss the transfer, said an Afghan official who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. It remained unclear exactly when the transfer would take place.
Afghan Interior Minister Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal said there would be a “peaceful transfer of power” to a transitional government, after the Taliban ordered its fighters to hold back from entering Kabul.
“The Afghan people should not worry… There will be no attack on the city and there will be a peaceful transfer of power to the transitional government,” he said in a recorded speech.
However, panicked residents raced to leave Kabul, with workers fleeing government offices and helicopters landing at the US Embassy. A reporter for the Wall Street Journal said that employees at the American University were burning documents containing identifying information about students in order to protect them. READ MORE
