CIA head meets Taliban leader as fears for Afghanistan grow

By NOMAAN MERCHANT, RAHIM FAIEZ and JAMEY KEATEN

The manager of the CIA met with the Taliban’s apical governmental person successful Kabul, an authoritative said Tuesday, arsenic much reports emerged of abuses successful areas held by the fighters, fueling concerns astir Afghanistan’s aboriginal and the destiny of those racing to permission the state earlier the looming U.S. withdrawal.

Recent days person seen a flurry of efforts to velocity a chaotic evacuation of foreigners and susceptible Afghans from Kabul’s airport, wherever scenes of desperation person highlighted some the disarray of the American pullout and fears that the Taliban volition again enforce a brutal rule. Leaders of the Group of Seven nations program to conscionable aboriginal successful the time to sermon perchance extending the airlift past the Aug. 31 deadline for the U.S. pullout — but a Taliban authoritative firmly rejected that connected Tuesday.

While details of William Burns’ treatment with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar connected Monday were not released, the gathering represents an bonzer infinitesimal for a CIA that for 2 decades targeted the Taliban successful paramilitary operations. And it gives a consciousness of the grade of the wrangling happening up of the extremity of America’s two-decade warfare successful the country.

The CIA partnered with Pakistani forces to apprehension Baradar successful 2010. He spent 8 years successful a Pakistani situation earlier the Trump medication persuaded Pakistan to merchandise him successful 2018 up of bid talks.

The Washington Post archetypal reported Burns’ gathering with Baradar. A U.S. authoritative confirmed the study connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to talk publicly. A Taliban spokesperson said helium was not alert of immoderate specified gathering but did not contradict that it took place.

In the aftermath of their stunning takeover of Afghanistan, Taliban leaders person promised to reconstruct information and tried to task an representation of moderation, but galore Afghans are skeptical. U.N. quality rights main Michelle Bachelet added to those concerns Tuesday, informing she had credible reports of “summary executions” and restrictions connected women successful areas nether Taliban control. She urged the Human Rights Council to instrumentality “bold and vigorous action” to show the rights situation.

Bachelet did not specify what clip timeframe she was referring to oregon the root of her reports. It has been hard to find however wide abuses mightiness beryllium and whether they bespeak that Taliban leaders are saying 1 happening and doing another, oregon if fighters connected the crushed are taking matters into their ain hands.

When the Taliban past ruled Afghanistan successful the precocious 1990s, the radical mostly confined women to their homes, banned tv and music, chopped disconnected the hands of suspected thieves and held nationalist executions.

Later Tuesday, G-7 leaders program to sermon the situation successful Afghanistan, arsenic European leaders property the U.S. to see delaying its withdrawal to let much clip to evacuate those hopeless to leave.

U.S. medication officials person refused to beryllium pinned down astir whether an hold is apt oregon adjacent imaginable fixed that the Taliban spokesperson person warned that Aug. 31 is simply a “red line” and that extending the American beingness would “provoke a reaction.”

On Tuesday, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said again that his radical would judge “no extensions” to the deadline

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the bulk of section unit who worked for his state successful Afghanistan haven’t yet gotten retired and called Tuesday’s gathering “very important” for discussing planetary entree to the Kabul airdrome beyond the extremity of August. Britain’s defence curate separately has called the deadline a “mistake.”

Tragic scenes astatine the airdrome person transfixed the world. Afghans poured onto the tarmac past week and immoderate clung to a U.S. subject transport level arsenic it took off, aboriginal plunging to their deaths. At slightest 7 radical died that day, and different 7 died Sunday successful a panicked stampede. An Afghan solider was killed Monday successful a gunfight.

Underscoring the fears of those seeking to flee, Bachelet cited reports Tuesday of “summary executions” of civilians and erstwhile information forces who were nary longer fighting, the recruitment of kid soldiers, and restrictions connected the rights of women to determination astir freely and of girls to spell to school. She cited repression of peaceful protests and expressions of dissent.

She called for beardown enactment to analyse reports of rights abuses.

“At this captious moment, the radical of Afghanistan look to the Human Rights Council to support and support their rights,” she said. “I impulse this assembly to instrumentality bold and vigorous action, commensurate with the gravity of this crisis, by establishing a dedicated mechanics to intimately show the evolving quality rights concern successful Afghanistan.”

By “mechanism,” Bachelet was referring to the anticipation that the assembly mightiness name a committee of inquiry, peculiar rapporteur oregon fact-finding ngo connected the concern successful Afghanistan.

While advocacy groups similar Human Rights Watch echoed specified calls, a draught solution astatine the assembly stopped acold abbreviated of intensified scrutiny — and appeared to propulsion backmost immoderate deeper look astatine the rights concern until adjacent year.

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Merchant reported from Washington, Keaten from Geneva and Faiez from Istanbul. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell successful Dubai, United Arab Emirates contributed to this report.