Taliban, Afghan govt in talks for transfer of power, former minister may head interim administration
Ali Ahmad Jalali, a US-based academic and former Afghan interior minister, is likely to be named to head an interim administration in Kabul, three diplomatic sources said on Sunday as Taliban fighters gathered around the city
The Taliban and Afghan government officials were in negotiations for a peaceful transfer of power on Sunday after fighters encircled the capital Kabul.
Taliban troops surrounded Afghanistan's seat of power but promised not to attack as handover talks were under way, reports the Al Jazeera.
The group said it has instructed its fighters to refrain from violence and offer safe passage to anyone wishing to leave Kabul.
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"Until the completion of the transition process, the responsibility for the security of Kabul is with the other side (the Afghan government)," a spokesman for the group said in a tweet.
Soon after, the Afghan government signalled there were negotiations underway to avoid bloodshed in Kabul, and to give the Taliban control.
Ali Ahmad Jalali, a US-based academic and former Afghan interior minister, is likely to be named to head an interim administration in Kabul, three diplomatic sources said on Sunday as Taliban fighters gathered around the city.
Earlier, acting Interior Minister Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal said in a televised address that a peaceful transition would take place but no details have as yet been confirmed.
It was not immediately clear whether the Taliban had given their final agreement to Jalali's appointment but he was seen as a potentially acceptable compromise figure to oversee the transition of power, the sources said.
