CIA chief William Burns ‘met with Taliban in Afghanistan’ as G7 meet on evacuation deadline and Afghans banned from Kabul airport

The Taliban has demanded the US stop inviting locals to fly out of Afghanistan and has now blocked them from Kabul airport.

CIA chief William Burns reportedly held secret talks with Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, right.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says the Taliban are no longer allowing Afghan nationals to go to Kabul airport because of the chaotic situation there.

At a news conference, he said crowds at the airport should go home and their security would be guaranteed.

“Let’s live together. The war for us has finished,” he said.

“They can evacuate all people, but we will not allow Afghans to leave.”

Afghans gather on a roadside near the military part of the airport in Kabul hoping to flee from the country after the Taliban's military takeover of Afghanistan. Picture: Wakil Koshar/AFP

Taliban fighters stand guard in a vehicle along the roadside in Kabul. Picture: AFP

But he added the US had kept on inviting people to the airport to board planes.

“We ask the Americans,” he said.

“Don’t encourage Afghans to leave … We need their talent.”

He added that Afghan media outlets were now working again, as were hospitals, schools, university and local government.

During today’s White House media briefing, Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked about the Taliban’s new stance.

“What does this mean for Afghans who assisted the US and can’t get through now? Does this effectively cut off those Afghans from being evacuated?” a reporter asked.

“No. That is not how you should read it,” Ms Psaki insisted.

“Our expectation is that (Afghans) should be able to get to the airport.”

This satellite image shows crowds of people waiting on the tarmac at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan, with a c17 transport aircraft ready, on August 23. Picture: Maxar Technologies/AFP

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid (L) attends the first press conference in Kabul. Picture: Hoshang Hashimi/AFP

It comes as US Central Intelligence Agency chief William Burns held a secret meeting in Kabul with Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, according to the Washington Post.

The Monday meeting, which if confirmed will have been the highest-level encounter between the Islamist group and the Biden administration since the militants’ return to power, came as efforts to evacuate thousands of people from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan became increasingly urgent.

CIA chief William Burns. Picture: Tom Williams/AFP

Mr Burns is one of US President Joe Biden’s most experienced diplomats; while Mr Baradar, who headed the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, is one of the top leaders in the regimen that has taken power in Kabul.

A spokesman for the CIA would not confirm the meeting to AFP, saying that the agency “never discusses the director’s travels.”

The Washington Post, which cited anonymous US sources for the meeting, did not the content of the discussions between the Taliban co-founder and the CIA boss.

But it said it was likely they revolved around any delay in the deadline for the United States to finish evacuations at the airport of the Afghan capital, where thousands of Afghans, terrified by the return of the Islamists, are still massed with the hope of fleeing the country.

US President Joe Biden is facing pressure from the G7. Picture: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP

Mr Biden has set an August 31 deadline to finish the chaotic airlift organised by thousands of temporarily deployed US and UK troops.

This morning he told G7 leaders that there would not be an extension of the deadline despite international pleas.

A spokesman for the Taliban warned Monday the hard line Islamist group would not agree to an extension anyway, calling the issue a “red line”, with any delay viewed as “extending occupation”.

“If the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations – the answer is no. Or there would be consequences,” Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Sky News.

Britain is curently chairing a virtual G7 metting, which also comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace will put pressure on Joe Biden to extend the August 31 deadline. Picture: Peter Summers/Getty Images

Earlier, Britain’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said he will push the US to extend the August 31 evacuation deadline but said he is was “unlikely” to succeed.

France has also called on Washington to push back the timeline. But hours before the summit, Mr Wallace acknowledged that both US President Joe Biden and Taliban leaders now in power in Kabul had cast serious doubt on evacuations continuing into September.

“I think it is unlikely,” he told Sky News. “Not only because of what the Taliban has said, but if you look at the public statements of President Biden I think it is unlikely.

“It is definitely worth us all trying, and we will.”

“If the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations – the answer is no. Or there would be consequences,” Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Sky News.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Picture: Daniel Leal-Olivas/Getty Images

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the leaders of the world’s top economies should also have an eye on the “next phase” for Afghanistan.

His office said he will urge fellow leaders to step up support for refugees and to restate their “commitment to safeguarding the gains made in Afghanistan over the last 20 years – in particular on girls’ education and the rights of women and minorities”.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. Picture: Annegret Hilse/AFP

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said there is no way everyone who needs to be will be evacuated by August 31.

“Even if (the evacuation) goes on until August 31 or even a few days longer, it will not be enough to allow those who we, or the United States, want to fly out,” Mr Maas told Bild TV.

Allies must therefore plot out how they can keep getting people out of Afghanistan even if the military operation ends as scheduled.