Afghanistan LIVE: Taliban discussing government formation in Doha

August 17, 2021

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taliban government, afghanistan war — Image Source : AP

Taliban fighters take control of Afghan Presidential Palace after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. Person second from left is a former bodyguard for Ghani.

The Taliban said that discussions are underway in Doha about a future government in Afghanistan, including its structure and name, and they are expected to report on the process in the very near future. A high-ranking official of the Taliban told TOLOnews that their leadership is busy in discussions in Doha and is in contact with the international community and political parties within Afghanistan. The Taliban’s political deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said that the current moment is a test for the Taliban. Hizb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who is part of a self-proclaimed council to move the talks forward, said that Ashraf Ghani’s failures led to the current situation in the country. Sayed Ishaq Gailani, an Afghan politician who is the head of the National Solidarity Party of Afghanistan, said that Afghanistan should have a system in which the achievements of the last two decades are preserved.

Afghanistan LIVE Updates

8:25 AM: Ashraf Ghani in Oman to escape to the US

The exact location of fugitive Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is unknown, but he is said to have travelled to Oman to escape to the US, Mehr News reported. It was initially reported that Ghani along with national security advisor Hamdullah Muhib and head of the administrative office of the President, Fazel Mahmood Fazli, left Afghanistan for Tajikistan, but Dushanbe denied that. It was then said that he had traveled to Uzbekistan. Ghani has been accused of treason by Afghans and presently, no official information is available about his location.

8:20 AM: Bangladesh will accept Taliban govt

Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said his country will accept the government in Afghanistan formed by Taliban if “it’s a government of the people”. “No matter which new government is formed, if a Taliban government is formed, which has been done, our door will be open to them if it is a government of the people,” Momen said on Monday. “We believe in the democratic government of the people,” the foreign minister said, adding that Bangladesh has friendly relations with all the governments and was ready to support them.