US warns of security threats at Kabul airport as Taliban leaders arrive to form new government

US citizens trying to leave Afghanistan were warned not to travel to Kabul airport due to “potential security threats” on Saturday as senior Taliban leaders arrived in the city to choose a new one. government.

“We advise US citizens to avoid going to the airport and avoiding the airport gates at this time, unless you receive individual instructions from a US government official to do so.” the US Embassy in Afghanistan said in a statement on Saturday.

The advisory was issued “because of potential security threats,” the statement said, although it did not specify what the threats were. “We will contact registered US citizens as the security situation changes to provide further instructions,” the statement added.

It came less than 24 hours after President Joe Biden promised to bring the Americans home and help the Afghans who had aided US forces in the country and others who may be in danger.

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“To our knowledge, at Taliban checkpoints, they allow people with US passports to pass. Now it’s a different question of when they get into the hustle and bustle of all the people just outside the wall near the airport, ”he said.

Time is running out before Biden’s August 31 deadline to withdraw most of the remaining U.S. troops, and the president’s Night did not commit to extending it on Friday.

On Saturday, thousands of people continued their nervous wait near Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport.

Senior U.S. military officials told The Associated Press that processing of passengers inside the airport resumed on Saturday, but there was a sizable backlog of people waiting to fly to Qatar.

Airport gates were closed overnight due to overcrowding in the area and it would take around 5 to 9 hours for the backlog to clear up, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity. because they were not officially authorized to speak.

Meanwhile, senior Taliban leaders also arrived in the Afghan capital on Saturday to choose a new government, a militant group commander told NBC News.

The Taliban’s top political leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, would likely appoint people to form a new government in the next few days, the commander said, speaking anonymously as he was not authorized to comment officially .

Baradar, who brokered the religious movement’s 2020 peace deal with the United States, was to lead the government while the group’s leader, Maulawi Hibatullah Akhunzada, would take over as head of state, the commander said. .

A governing council, known as Shura, would make decisions based on Islamic law, he said, adding that they would like to include all ethnic groups in the new government.

“In our system, no one can ask for a wallet,” he said. “But one thing must be clear, there is no place for democracy in Islam and we will follow what Islamic Sharia says.”

His comments came less than a week after the group completed its rapid takeover of the country, finally entering Kabul last Sunday without firing a shot.

Those who chose to stay in Afghanistan will likely have to adapt under the Taliban. The group ruled the country with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001, before being toppled by US-led forces for protecting Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks that sparked the longest war in the United States.

Under his extremist Islamic rule, women and children were largely hidden from public life, and religious minorities were victims of frequent and horrific killings.

This time, the group said it would seek an “inclusive and Islamic” government, offer full amnesty to those working for the United States and the Western-backed government. He also said he honored women’s rights within the norms of Islamic law, without giving details.

But an intelligence report submitted to the United Nations on Friday said the group was going door-to-door and sorting names at checkpoints in Kabul as they tracked down people working with US-led forces. or the previous Afghan government.

In recent days, the group’s fighters have also responded forcefully to emerging protests in pockets across the country as their regime faced a number of early challenges.

Mushtaq Yusufzai reported in Peshawar, Pakistan and Rhea Mogul in Hong Kong.