Afghan President in Urgent Talks As Taliban Seize Town near Kabul
The United States and Britain rushed in troops to help evacuate their embassies after the Taliban captured town after town as US and other foreign forces that have backed the government withdrew.
Many Afghans have fled from the provinces to the capital, driven out by fighting and fearful of a return to hardline rule, as resistance from Afghan government forces crumbles.
"As your president, my focus is on preventing further instability, violence, and displacement of my people," Ghani said in a brief televised address, adding that he was consulting government, elders, politicians and international leaders.
He gave no sign of responding to a Taliban demand that he resign as a condition for any talks on a ceasefire and a political settlement, saying his priority remained the consolidation of the country's security and defense forces.
"Serious measures are being taken in this regard," he said, without elaborating, Reuters reported.
Qatar, which has been hosting so-far inconclusive peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, said on Saturday it had urged the Taliban to cease fire during a meeting with their representatives on Saturday.
Earlier the Taliban, facing little resistance, took Pul-e-Alam, capital of Logar province and 70 km (40 miles) south of Kabul, according to a local provincial council member.
The town is a staging post for a potential assault on Kabul. Its capture came a day after the Taliban took the country's second- and third-biggest cities. The Taliban said they are close to capturing Maidan Shahr, another town close to Kabul.
An Afghan government official confirmed on Friday that Kandahar, the biggest city in the south, was under Taliban control as US-led international forces complete their withdrawal after 20 years of war.
Herat in the west, near the border with Iran, also fell to the group.
Kandahar's loss was a heavy blow to the government. It is the heartland of the Taliban ethnic Pashtun fighters who emerged in 1994 amid the chaos of civil war. It is also close to the town of Spin Boldak, one of the two main entry points into Pakistan and a major source of tax revenues.
