Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani held urgent talks with local leaders and international partners on Saturday as Taliban rebels pushed closer to Kabul, capturing a town south of the capital that is one of the gateways to the city, Trend reports citing Reuters.
The United States and Britain rushed in troops to help evacuate their embassies after the militants captured town after town as U.S. 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 Islamist 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 defence forces.
"Serious measures are being taken in this regard," he said, without elaborating.
Qatar, which has been hosting so-far inconclusive peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, said on Saturday it had urged the insurgents 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, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The town is a staging post for a potential assault on Kabul. Its capture came a day after the insurgents took the country's second- and third-biggest cities. The Taliban says it is 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 U.S.-led international forces complete their withdrawal after 20 years of war.