On secret mission, CIA chief met Taliban brass in Kabul

CIA director William Burns flew to Kabul for secret talks with the Taliban leadership on Monday even as the militant body imposed a blockade on the capital’s airport and said Afghans are no longer allowed to leave the country.

- Chidanand Rajghatta

Change Policy, Won’t Let Afghans Leave: Outfit To US The unexpected meeting took place ahead of a virtual G-7 meeting of US and its western allies, following which President Joe Biden stuck to the August 31 withdrawal deadline despite pressure from coalition partners.

Burns is reported to have met Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban leader who led negotiations in Qatar with the American government in what is the highest-level in-person contact between Washington and extremists who overran Kabul, but the outcome of the talks was not immediately known.

It is not clear if the meeting centered on operational, logistical issues related to evacuation or if they included longer term political and diplomatic issues.

However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he was “not aware” of any meeting between the Taliban and Burns, though he did not deny that such a meeting took place.