• e-mail

Eight people have died at Kabul airport where thousands of desperate Afghans have clambered onto moving military planes and U.S. troops have fired warning shots into the air amid a chaotic scramble to flee the Taliban.

Three stowaways are believed to have plunged to their deaths, with footage showing bodies falling from the underside of a hulking USAF transport jet as it climbed into the skies over the fallen city on Monday. Further images later showed mutilated corpses strewn across a rooftop.

Separate video showed hundreds chasing after a USAF C-17 transport jet, darting beneath its wheels and clinging to its fuesale as it hurtled down the runway in preparation for takeoff at Hamid Karzai International Airport.

U.S. soldiers earlier fired warning shots into the air to deter people from forcing their way onto a plane that was due to evacuate American diplomats and embassy staff out of the fallen city. 

'The crowd was out of control,' a U.S. official told Reuters. 'The firing was only done to defuse the chaos.' 

One witness, waiting for a flight out for more than 20 hours, said it was unclear if the five had been shot or killed in a stampede. 

Joe Biden's silence on the foreign policy disaster was condemned in a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed as 'one of the most shameful in history by a Commander in Chief at such a moment of American retreat.'

The President has failed to speak publicly on the calamitous surrender but issued a statement on Saturday which blamed Donald Trump for a deal forged with the Taliban. 

The chaos, reminiscent of the evacuation from Saigon in 1975, comes after the Taliban declared victory from the presidential palace on Sunday following a blistering advance across the country after a hasty U.S. retreat.

One of the terror chieftains claimed proudly, 'Praise God, I was in Guantanamo for eight years', as he sat at the president's table surrounded by henchmen strapped with AK-47s. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that the U.S. decision to withdraw had 'accelerated' the crisis that risked creating 'a breeding ground for terror.'

However, the Taliban has been on a charm offensive, pledging that no harm will come to any foreign citizens or embassy staff as it seeks formal recognition from the international community. 

The last U.S. officials were flying out of the country today as: 

• Taliban fighters were seen patrolling the streets of Kabul as thousands of hopeful Afghans gathered on the runway at Hamid Karzai airport trying desperately to escape from Afghanistan;  
• The US ambassador and embassy staff fled Afghanistan after Taliban forces stormed Kabul;    
• President Biden dispatched 6,000 troops to help evacuate US staff 'and other allied personnel';
• PM Boris Johnson said said the US decision to withdraw from Afghanistan had 'accelerated' the crisis; 
• President Biden defended the withdrawal of US troops and blamed his predecessor Donald Trump for a deal that left the warlords 'in the strongest position militarily since 2001'; 
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted the scene in Afghanistan is not comparable to the fall of Saigon as he diverted blame for the Taliban takeover on Republicans;
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel said troops would be deployed to Afghanistan to evacuate German citizens and Afghans in danger from the Taliban. 

Three stowaways are believed to have plunged to their deaths, with footage showing bodies falling from the underside of a hulking USAF transport jet as it climbed into the skies over the fallen city on Monday

Footage from Hamad Karzai airport showed hundreds of people running alongside - and in front of - a US Air Force plane preparing to take off

Thousands of civilians rush towards one of the last military planes leaving Kabul (left) the airport was teeming with desperate civilians trying to flee the Taliban (right)

Footage published by Afghan outlet Aśvaka showed three stowaways falling to the deaths after clinging on to the wheels of a military plane as it took off from Kabul airport

Video posted later appeared to show residents collecting the bodies of three stowaways, who reportedly fell from an airborne plane, from a roof in Kabul

Footage showed desperate Afghans trying to climb onto grounded planes at Kabul's Hamid Karzai airport after the Taliban swept the city

Afghans crowd at the tarmac of the Kabul airport on August 16, 2021, to flee the country as the Taliban were in control of Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country and conceded the insurgents had won the 20-year war

Desperate Afghan civilians attempt to clamber over the barbed wire-topped wall into Hamid Karzai International Airport on Monday

Men climb over a wall into Hamid Karzai International Airport in scenes reminiscent of the chaos in Saigon in 1975

US troops are guarding the airport and have taken over air traffic control, but all non-military flights are grounded. Soldiers fired warning shots in the air to prevent hundreds of civilians running onto the tarmac, a US official said

US troops fired shots into the air at Kabul airport today as desperate Afghans climbed up the outside of airbridges trying to flee as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan

 Video posted social media showed hundreds of people trying to climb the outside of airbridges to board commercial liners grounded in Hamad Karzai airport

At least five people have been killed at Kabul airport as thousands of people tried desperately to get on flights out of Afghanistan amid increasingly chaotic scenes. Witnesses said it was not clear whether the victims were killed by gunshots or in a stampede

Taliban fighters were seen inside the Afghan parliament on Monday after officials promised civilians would not be harmed and announced everyone would be allowed to return home from Kabul airport if they decided to stay in the country

The US Embassy has been evacuated and the American flag lowered, with diplomats relocating to the airport in scenes reminiscent of the evacuation of the embassy of Saigon in 1975. Other Western countries have also closed their missions and are flying out staff and civilians after the Taliban walked into Kabul's presidential palace

In a stunning rout, the Taliban seized nearly all of Afghanistan in just over a week, despite the billions of dollars spent by the US and NATO over nearly two decades to build up Afghan security forces

Victorious Taliban commander claims he 'spent eight years in Guantanamo Bay' in triumphant speech from Kabul palace

A Taliban commander claimed he spent eight years in Guantanamo Bay in a triumphant speech from inside the Presidential Palace in Kabul on Sunday as the militants declared an Islamic state of Afghanistan.

Taliban fighters marched into the ancient palace on Sunday and demanded a 'peaceful transfer of power' as the capital city descended into chaos, with US helicopters evacuating diplomats from the embassy in scenes echoing the 1975 Fall of Saigon which followed the Vietnam War. 

The Al-Jazeera news channel livestreamed the press conference from inside the palace, which showed a group of Taliban fighters sitting at the president's desk before a fighter claimed he was a former inmate of the US-controlled Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba. 

A Taliban commander claimed he spent eight years in Guantanamo Bay in a victory speech from inside the Presidential Palace in Kabul as the militants declared an Islamic state of Afghanistan

'Praise God, I was in Guantanamo for eight years,' the man told the broadcaster as henchmen with AK-47s stood around him.

Established by George W Bush in 2002, suspected terrorists have been detained without trial and tortured at the facility. Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep the centre open indefinitely in 2018, while in February the Biden administration vowed to shut Guantanamo down.

Various reports said that the commander was either Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir or Gholam Ruhani.

Both of the men were held at Guantanamo Bay and are believed to have returned to the Taliban top brass after being released.

Advertisement

Almost all major checkpoints in Kabul were under Taliban control by Monday morning and Afghanistan's Civil Aviation Authority issued an advisory saying the 'civilian side' of the airport had been 'closed until further notice' and that the military controlled the airspace. 

Taliban officials said everyone would be allowed to return home from Kabul airport if they decide to stay in the country and promised civilians would not be harmed. The group previously said westerners would be allowed to leave the country but that Afghans would be barred from departing. 

US troops are guarding the airport and have taken over air traffic control, but all non-military flights are grounded. Early Monday morning, flight-tracking data showed no immediate commercial flights over the country. 

In the capital, a tense calm set in, with most people hiding in their homes as the Taliban deployed fighters at major intersections.

There were scattered reports of looting and armed men knocking on doors and gates, and there was less traffic than usual on eerily quiet streets. Fighters could be seen searching vehicles at one of the city's main squares.

Many fear chaos, after the Taliban freed thousands of prisoners and the police simply melted away, or a return to the kind of brutal rule the Taliban imposed when it was last in power.

They raced to Kabul's international airport, where the 'civilian side' was closed until further notice, according to Afghanistan's Civil Aviation Authority. The military was put in control of the airspace.

Massouma Tajik, a 22-year-old data analyst, described scenes of panic at the airport, where she was hoping to board an evacuation flight.

After waiting six hours, she heard shots from outside, where a crowd of men and women were trying to climb aboard a plane. She said U.S. troops sprayed gas and fired into the air to disperse the crowds after people scaled the walls and swarmed onto the tarmac. Gunfire could be heard in the voice messages she sent to The Associated Press.

Shafi Arifi, who had a ticket to travel to Uzbekistan on Sunday, was unable to board her plane because it was packed with people who had raced across the tarmac and climbed aboard, with no police or airport staff in sight.

'There was no room for us to stand,' said the 24-year-old. 'Children were crying, women were shouting, young and old men were so angry and upset, no one could hear each other. There was no oxygen to breathe.'

After another woman fainted and was carried off the plane, Arifi gave up and went back home.  

President Ashraf Ghani fled from the country on Sunday as the Islamists entered Kabul virtually unopposed, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed.

Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen said in a message on Twitter their fighters were under strict orders not to harm anyone. 

Hundreds of Afghans desperately scaled the walls of Hamid Karzai international airport in Kabul as they try to flee the country

Pictured: Vehicles are seen on a congested street in Kabul, Afghanistan, in these still images taken from a video uploaded to social media on August 15, 2021

US troops are guarding the airport and have taken over air traffic control, but all non-military flights are grounded. Early Monday morning, flight-tracking data showed no immediate commercial flights over the country even as thousands of Afghans flooded Kabul airport

Desperate civilians try and get into Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Monday after the Taliban took over the country

A father leads his family towards the airport as crowds of people try to escape Afghanistan on Monday

Desperate Afghans were seen chasing US military C-17s as the evacuation flights took off from Kabul airport on Monday

US soldiers take up their positions as they secure the airport in Kabul after the Taliban walked into the capital, forcing President Ashraf Ghani to flee

Thousands of Afghans gathered at Kabul's Hamid Karzai airport, but all commercial services have been suspended, with only military flights leaving the country as the UK, US and other western countries repatriate their citizens

There were chaotic scenes at Kabul International Airport on Sunday night as thousands of Afghan residents rushed onto the tarmac

Potential passengers can be seen crowding the tarmac at Kabul airport in Afghanistan with people desperate to leave the country any way they can

A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies near the U.S. Embassy as smoke rises in Kabul, Afghanistan, late on Sunday night

'Life, property and honour of none shall be harmed but must be protected by the mujahideen,' he said.

Earlier, Mohammad Naeem, the spokesman for the Taliban's political office, told Al Jazeera TV, the Afghan people and the Taliban had witnessed the fruits of their efforts and sacrifices over 20 years.

'Thanks to God, the war is over,' he said.

It took the Taliban just over a week to seize control of the country after a lightning sweep that ended in Kabul as government forces, trained for years and equipped by the United States and others at a cost of billions of dollars, melted away.

Al Jazeera broadcast footage of what it said were Taliban commanders in the presidential palace with dozens of armed fighters. 

Naeem said the form of the new regime in Afghanistan would be made clear soon, adding the Taliban did not want to live in isolation and calling for peaceful international relations.

The militants sought to project a more moderate face, promising to respect women's rights and protect both foreigners and Afghans.

Many Afghans fear the Taliban will return to past harsh practices in their imposition of sharia religious law. During their rule, women could not work and punishments such as stoning, whipping and hanging were administered.

Both the United Nations and the United States said last week they had received reports that Taliban fighters were executing surrendering government soldiers.  

Taliban officials said they had received no reports of any clashes anywhere in the country: 'The situation is peaceful,' one said, adding the Taliban controlled 90% of state buildings and fighters had been told to prevent any damage.

Central Kabul streets were largely deserted early on a sunny Monday as waking residents pondered their future.

'I'm in a complete state of shock,' said Sherzad Karim Stanekzai, who spent the night in his carpet shop to guard it. 'I know there will be no foreigners, no international people who will now come to Kabul.'

People thronged to the airport from late on Sunday with hundreds wandering on the runways in the dark, pulling luggage and jostling for a place on one of the last commercial flights to leave before U.S. forces took over air traffic control. 

Dozens of men tried to clamber onto an overhead departure gangway to board a plane while hundreds of others milled about, a video posted on social media showed.

U.S. forces gave up their big military base at Bagram, some 60 km north of Kabul, several weeks ago, leaving Kabul's airport their only way out, to the anger of many Afghans.

'The Americans have no right to hold the airport for their own use, they could have used their own base to take people out,' said one person trying to leave.

There was the prospect of chaos in the skies over Afghanistan too. Its civil aviation authority advised transit aircraft to reroute saying its airspace was uncontrolled. 

The Pentagon on Sunday authorized another 1,000 troops to help evacuate U.S. citizens and Afghans who worked for them, expanding its security presence on the ground to almost 6,000 troops within the next 48 hours.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said early on Monday that all embassy personnel, including Ambassador Ross Wilson, had been transferred to Kabul airport, mostly by helicopter, to await evacuation and the American flag had been lowered and removed from the embassy compound.

Western nations, including France, Germany and New Zealand said they were working to get citizens as well as some Afghan employees out.

In a Facebook post, Ghani said he had left the country to avoid clashes with the Taliban that would endanger millions of Kabul residents. Some social media users branded Ghani, who did not disclose his location, a coward for leaving them in chaos.

In Washington, opponents of President Joe Biden's decision to end America's longest war, launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said the chaos was caused by a failure of leadership.

Biden has faced rising domestic criticism after sticking to a plan, initiated by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, to end the U.S. military mission by Aug. 31.

Britain's defence minister said British and NATO forces would not be returning to fight the Taliban.

'That's not on the cards,' Ben Wallace told Sky News. 

British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace BREAKS DOWN as he admits 'some people won't get back' but vows to fly hundreds of Afghans out in the next 36 hours 

Ben Wallace choked up today as he vowed to fly hundreds of desperate Afghans out of the country within the next 36 hours - but insisted sending UK troops back in is not 'on the cards'.

The Defence Secretary was overcome with emotion as he talked about the consequences of the collapse of the Western-trained Afghan army, after the Taliban walked into Kabul and took charge of the presidential palace. 

He said the crisis had become inevitable after a deal was struck with the extremists and the US pulled out, and the focus was now on evacuating British nationals, interpreters and others who might be subject to reprisals.

But he conceded that 'some people won't get back'. 'It is sad the West has done what it has done,' he said. 'Twenty years of sacrifice.. is what it is.'  

Wallace - who himself served in the military before entering politics - said he felt the issue so deeply because he was a soldier. 

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace admitted he was 'sad' at the collapse of the Western-trained Afghan army after the Taliban walked into Kabul and took charge of the presidential palace

Pressed on whether there was any prospect of troops returning to Kabul, Mr Wallace told Sky News: 'No, look that's not on the cards that we're going to go back.'

He added: 'The US have made itself clear that they're not intending to stay and as the framework nation that leaves us with difficult choices and I've been pretty much honest about that all the way through this process.'

On the airlift of British nationals, he added: 'The military flights are coming in and out, they've just brought in more UK soldiers.

'Border Force is joining us to make sure that we accelerate the process to get more Afghans out, which is our obligation. We flew out 370 staff and British citizens, eligible personnel yesterday and the day before and we'll continue to engage those flights.

'The next group of Afghans to come out will be 782 and we'll make sure we get them in the next 24 to 36 hours out of the country and are continuing to process those people.' 

He went on: 'My job as as defence secretary is to make sure that we protect not only the UK nationals, but those Afghans we have an obligation to, that is actually why we're in the country. For the last few weeks we've been in the country solely to process those people and to make sure we protect our officials doing that job and we'll continue to do so.'

Mr Wallace - who was a captain in the Scots Guards and saw service in Northern Ireland - told BBC Breakfast it will not be possible to get everyone out of Afghanistan, with the previous August 31 evacuation timetable now in tatters.

'With the US' removal of the framework, the military might and the speed of the Afghan government collapse, it's simply not possible for us to send small bands of troops miles into Afghanistan to find people if they're not able to be found,' he said.

'It is a deep regret that we have gone to a position we have, I haven't hidden that over the last few weeks. We are doing everything we can to get those people out.'

Asked if translators who have helped British citizens are eligible to come to the UK, he said: 'Yes, they are. People who are eligible are people who have worked for us in what we call public-facing roles, people who've worked for us but are not in public-facing roles, contractors and third parties … and any other special cases.'

Outlining the process of checking people who are being flown to the UK from Afghanistan, he added: 'We do have to make sure that some of the people we're bringing back aren't affiliated to either a terrorist organisation or the Taliban, which, I'm afraid, a very, very small number have been.

'They might not have worked for us for 10, 12, 15 years, so we have to see that they are right. We're doing our very best to make sure we do not discriminate against those people who are fully legitimate to come here.'

Challenged that the Taliban had 'won', Mr Wallace said: 'I don't know about a win, I think, I acknowledge that the Taliban are in control of the country. You don't have to be a political scientist to spot that's where we're at.'

 

Advertisement

Taliban strengthens its grip on Afghanistan with gunmen patrolling streets of Kabul as militants claim civilians and foreigners have nothing to fear despite thousands trying to flee the country

By Chris Jewers 

Victorious Taliban fighters patrolled Kabul on Monday after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan's 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city's airport trying to flee the group's feared hardline brand of Islamist rule.

It took the Taliban just over a week to seize control of the country after a lightning sweep that ended in Kabul as government forces trained for years and equipped by Britain, the United States and other Western nations at a cost of billions of dollars, melted away.

As the militants declared victory and claimed peace had been brought to the country, at least five people were killed in Kabul airport and another three reportedly died falling from a plane, while hundreds tried to forcibly enter aircraft leaving the Afghan capital, witnesses said.

One witness said he had seen the bodies of five people being taken to a vehicle. Another witness said it was not clear whether the victims were killed by gunshots or in a stampede.

U.S. troops, who are in charge of the airport, earlier fired in the air to scatter the crowd, a U.S. official said, but officials were not immediately available to comment on the deaths.

Pictured: Taliban fighters stand guard along a roadside near the Zanbaq Square in Kabul on August 16, 2021. Victorious Taliban fighters patrolled Kabul on Monday after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan's 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city's airport trying to flee the group's feared hardline brand of Islamist rule

Pictured: Pakistan's soldiers check the documents of stranded Afghan nationals wanting to return to Afghanistan at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing point in Chaman on August 16, 2021

Taliban fighters take control of Afghan presidential palace after the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country

Meanwhile, refugees have been massing at the borders as people desperately try to flee Afghanistan before the Taliban's brutal rules are implemented, with pictures from the country's border with Pakistan showing hundreds of people queuing in an attempt to leave.

'Today is a great day for the Afghan people and the mujahideen. They have witnessed the fruits of their efforts and their sacrifices for 20 years,' Mohammad Naeem, the spokesman for the Taliban's political office, told Al Jazeera TV. 'Thanks to God, the war is over in the country.'

President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday night as the insurgents encircled the capital - saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed - capping a military victory that saw them capture all cities in just 10 days.

In a Facebook post, Ghani said he had left the country to avoid clashes with the Taliban that would endanger millions of Kabul residents. Some social media users branded Ghani, who did not disclose his location, a coward for leaving them in chaos. Al Jazeera reported he had flown to Uzbekistan, citing his personal bodyguard.

'The Taliban have won with the judgement of their swords and guns, and are now responsible for the honour, property and self-preservation of their countrymen,' Ghani said after fleeing.

Taliban officials said they had received no reports of any clashes anywhere in the country: 'The situation is peaceful,' one official said. The Taliban controlled 90 percent of state buildings and fighters had been told to prevent any damage, the official added.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who fought in the Soviet-Afghan War during the 1980s and helped ex-chief Mohammad Omar create the Taliban in 1994, has already been installed as the head of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, according to reports in the Arab world.  

Video from Afghanistan's parliament building showed Taliban fighters entering the main chamber today. The grainy footage showed fighters carrying weapons sitting at a table at the head of the chamber under the government's seal, with some smiling and posing for photographs. 

Video (pictured) from Afghanistan's parliament building showed Taliban fighters entering the main chamber today. The grainy footage showed fighters carrying weapons sitting at a table at the head of the chamber under the government's seal, with some smiling and posing for photographs

British Forces from 16 Air Assault Brigade arrive in Kabul, Afghanistan, to provide support to British nationals leaving the country, as part of Operation PITTING after Taliban insurgents took control of the presidential palace in Kabul, August 15

Government forces collapsed without the support of the US military, which invaded in 2001 after the September 11 attacks and toppled the Taliban for its support of Al-Qaeda.

But the United States ultimately failed to build a democratic government capable of withstanding the Taliban, despite spending billions of dollars and providing two decades of military support.

Russia said its ambassador to Afghanistan will meet with the Taliban in Kabul on Tuesday and that it will decide on whether to officially recognise the new government.

China on Monday said it is willing to develop 'friendly relations' with the Taliban after the Islamist hardliners seized control of Afghanistan.

'China respects the right of the Afghan people to independently determine their own destiny and is willing to continue to develop... friendly and cooperative relations with Afghanistan,' foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters. 

Pashtana Durrani from non-profit organisation Learn Afghanistan told BBC Breakfast on Monday that the Taliban have so far been unclear about how they intend to rule Afghanistan now they are in power.

'In some places they are very nice to people and then there are places where they have been slitting throats,' she told the morning show. 'So I don’t want to trust them and I’m not trusting them for their word.

'But at the same time, the first thing that they did yesterday – they stripped us of our flag. They brought down the flag. The second thing that they did, is they are in the process of changing the name of Afghanistan.

Taliban fighters stormed the ancient palace on Sunday and demanded a 'peaceful transfer of power' as the capital city descended into chaos

Pictured: Mullah Baradar Akhund, a senior official of the Taliban, seated with a group of men, makes a video statement, in this still image taken from a video recorded in an unidentified location and released on August 16, 2021

'And at the same time we are being stripped of our political rights, our mobility rights, our social rights. So these are some immediate things that we know are going to happen, or are in the process of happening,' she said.     

After police and other government forces gave up their posts in Kabul on Sunday, Taliban fighters took over checkpoints across the city and entered the presidential palace.

Militants with rifles slung over their shoulders were also seen walking Monday through the streets of the Green Zone, the formerly heavily fortified district that houses most embassies and international organisations.

The Taliban sought to reassure the international community that Afghans should not fear them, and they will not take revenge against those who supported the US-backed alliance.

In a message posted to social media, Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar called on his fighters to remain disciplined after taking control of the city.

'Now it's time to test and prove, now we have to show that we can serve our nation and ensure security and comfort of life,' he said.

The Taliban's capture of the capital had occurred, as in many other cities, without the bloodshed that many had feared.

But there were desperate scenes at Kabul's airport on Monday as people tried to board the few flights available.

'We are afraid to live in this city,' a 25-year-old ex-soldier said as he stood among huge crowds on the tarmac. 'Since I served in the army, the Taliban would definitely target me.'

The United States had sent 6,000 troops to the airport to ensure the safe evacuation of embassy staff, as well as Afghans who worked as interpreters or in other support roles.

Other governments had also organised charter flights.

The US government said Monday it had secured the airport, but there was still chaos with witnesses reporting American soldiers firing in the air to warn off crowds.

Authorities then cancelled all remaining commercial flights because of the chaos.

'There will be no commercial flights from Hamid Karzai Airport to prevent looting and plundering. Please do not rush to the airport,' the Kabul airport authority said in a message sent to reporters.

The United States had earlier released a statement with more than 65 nations urging the Taliban to let Afghans leave the country, warning of accountability for any abuses.

Pictured: Taliban forces patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 16, 2021. Taliban officials said they had received no reports of any clashes anywhere in the country as they took control in little over a week

After police and other government forces gave up their posts in Kabul on Sunday, Taliban fighters took over checkpoints across the city and entered the presidential palace. Pictured: Taliban fighters in Kabul, August 16, 2021

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged the Taliban and all parties to 'exercise restraint' and said the rights of women and girls, who suffered under the previous Taliban regime, must be protected.

The Taliban imposed an ultra-strict interpretation of sharia law during their 1996-2001 rule.

This included banning girls from schools and women from working, while people were publicly stoned to death for adultery. 

As people scrambled to escape Afghanistan, neighbouring Pakistan's state-run airline said on Monday it has halted all flights to Afghanistan's capital of Kabul because of the 'uncertain security situation' there.

Spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said Monday that Pakistan International Airlines decided to protect passengers, the crew and the planes after consulting the Afghan civil aviation authorities.  

Pakistan's interior minister said on Sunday the country had closed the Torkham border point with Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the Afghan border facility.

Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the decision to close the Torkhan border was taken due to due to an extraordinary situation on the other side. Ahmed told the local Geo television that the border was closed when Afghan police surrendered to the Taliban.

Ahmed said the Chaman border point with Afghanistan remains open.

Pakistan has already said that it cannot bear any load of new Afghan refugees in the wake of crisis in the war-torn country. Pakistan is about to complete fencing along the long, porous border, saying the step has been taken to check the militants' movement across the border. 

Al Jazeera broadcast footage of what it said were Taliban commanders in the presidential palace with dozens of armed fighters.

Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said the form of the new regime in Afghanistan would be made clear soon, adding the Taliban did not want to live in isolation and calling for peaceful international relations.

'We have reached what we were seeking, which is the freedom of our country and the independence of our people,' he said. 'We will not allow anyone to use our lands to target anyone, and we do not want to harm others.'

Many Afghans fear the Taliban will return to past harsh practices in their imposition of sharia religious law. During their 1996-2001 rule, women could not work and punishments such as stoning, whipping and hanging were administered.

Both the United Nations and the United States said last week they had received reports that Taliban fighters were executing surrendering government soldiers.

A Taliban leader the insurgents were regrouping from different provinces, and would wait until foreign forces had left before creating a new governance structure.

The leader, who requested anonymity, said Taliban fighters had been 'ordered to allow Afghans to resume daily activities and do nothing to scare civilians'. 

Central Kabul streets were largely deserted early on a sunny Monday as waking residents pondered their future.

'I'm in a complete state of shock,' said Sherzad Karim Stanekzai, who spent the night in his carpet shop to guard it. 'I know there will be no foreigners, no international people who will now come to Kabul.'

The militants sought to project a more moderate face, promising to respect women's rights and protect both foreigners and Afghans.

Taliban stands guard outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport as people walk to the airport to flee the country after rumors that foreign countries are evacuating people even without visas, in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 16, 2021

Taliban members patrol the streets of Afghan capital Kabul on August 16, 2021, as the Taliban takes control of Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country

A Taliban fighter sits on his motorcycle along a roadside at Shahr-e Naw in Kabul on August 16, 2021

Western nations, including the UK, France, Germany and New Zealand said they were working to get citizens as well as some Afghan employees out. Russia said it saw no need to evacuate its embassy for the time being while Turkey said its embassy would continue operations. 

Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the military side of Kabul airport was secure and that Britain was doing everything it could to evacuate British citizens and Afghans with links to Britain.

'Our target is... about 1200 to 1500 exit a day in the capacity of our airplanes, and we'll keep that flow,' he said.

Britain has relocated its embassy to Kabul airport from the city. Asked what he would feel to see the Taliban flag flying over the former British embassy building in Kabul, Wallace said: 'Symbolically, it's not what any of us wanted.' 

MP Tobias Ellwood, former captain in the British Army and chairman of the defence select committee, criticised the West for pulling out of Afghanistan.

Appearing on Sky News, he said: 'The world is now a little bit more dangerous because they've now taken control of the country, and the West should really hang its head in shame after abruptly abandoning Afghanistan to a civil war after two decades of effort.'

He added: 'This is not a good day for the West at all, and China will be observing things very, very closely indeed. They are already making alliances with the Taliban and glossing over the human rights atrocities that are likely to unfold.'  

The European Union said it is working with member states to find quick solutions for the relocation of local Afghan staff and their families to a safe place, a spokesperson said.

A US Chinook helicopter flies over the city of Kabul as diplomatic vehicles leave the compound after the Taliban advanced on the Afghan capital, August 15

'The matter is extremely urgent, we take it very seriously and continue to work hard, together with EU member states, on implementing rapid solutions for them and ensure their safety,' the spokesperson for the bloc's executive Commission told Reuters.

The Commission does not give figures for their local Afghan staff for security reasons.

German parliamentary sources said on Monday that chancellor Angela Merkel's government is planning to deploy soldiers to Afghanistan to help with the evacuation of German nationals and Afghans in danger from the Taliban.

The government is planning to seek a mandate from parliament to allow the deployment of as many as 'several hundred soldiers', the sources told AFP, citing a briefing by Merkel to leaders of parliamentary groups late Sunday.

Several dozen French citizens are to be repatriated by plane from Afghanistan, French Armed Forces minister Florence Parly told France Info radio.

Sweden said it had completed the evacuation of all its Swedish embassy staff from Kabul on Monday, and is now working on plans to get local employees and those who have supported its activities out of the country.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called for the Taliban to uphold human rights and said the world was watching: 'It's going to be all about the actions, not the words.' 

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged all parties to exercise the utmost restraint, and expressed particular concern about the future of women and girls.

In Washington, opponents of President Joe Biden's decision to end America's longest war, launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said the chaos was caused by a failure of leadership.

Biden has faced rising domestic criticism after sticking to a plan, initiated by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, to end the U.S. military mission by Aug. 31.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell blamed Biden for what he called a 'shameful failure of American leadership'.

Pictured: A Pakistan's army soldier stands guard as people arriving from Afghanistan make their way at the Friendship Gate crossing point at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border town of Chaman, Pakistan August 16, 2021

Pictured: People arriving from Afghanistan make their way at the Friendship Gate crossing point at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border town of Chaman, Pakistan August 16, 2021

Travelers enter in Pakistan through a border crossing point in Chaman, Pakistan, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. A special flight of Pakistan's national airline PIA has arrived in Islamabad carrying 329 passengers from Kabul, and another carrying 170 people will arrive later today

Naeem said the Taliban would adopt an international policy of two-way non-interference. 'We do not think that foreign forces will repeat their failed experience.' 

The US government has insisted in recent days that its two decades of war in Afghanistan was a success, defined by quashing the Al-Qaeda threat.

President Joe Biden also said he was determined there was no choice but to withdraw American troops, as he would not 'pass this war' onto another president.

But Washington was left shocked by the rapid collapse of the Afghan government, and critics have said the United States' reputation as a global power has been badly tarnished.

'America's credibility as an ally is diminished,' said Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's former ambassador to the United States. 

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said early on Monday that all embassy personnel, including Ambassador Ross Wilson, had been transferred to Kabul airport, mostly by helicopter, to await evacuation and the American flag had been lowered and removed from the embassy compound.

Hundreds of Afghans invaded the airport's runways in the dark, pulling luggage and jostling for a place on one of the last commercial flights to leave before U.S. forces took over air traffic control on Sunday.

'This is our airport but we are seeing diplomats being evacuated while we wait in complete uncertainty,' said Rakhshanda Jilali, a human rights activist who was trying to get to Pakistan, told Reuters in a message from the airport.

Crowds thronged into the airport as morning broke and U.S. forces fired into the air to stop people surging onto the tarmac to try to board a military flight, a U.S. official said.

Dozens of men tried to clamber onto an overhead departure gangway to board a plane while hundreds of others milled about, a video posted on social media showed.

There was the prospect of chaos in the skies over Afghanistan too. Its civil aviation authority advised transit aircraft to reroute saying its airspace was uncontrolled.

The Pentagon on Sunday authorized another 1,000 troops to help evacuate U.S. citizens and Afghans who worked for them, expanding its security presence on the ground to almost 6,000 troops within the next 48 hours.