Afghan govt handing over power to Taliban

Negotiaions are going on in the Afghan Presidential Palace to transfer power to the Taliban.

The head of High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah is said to be mediating the process, Afghan media reported.

Sources have also said that Ali Ahamd Jalali will be appointed as head of the new interim government.

Meanwhile, the acting Ministers of Interior, and Foreign Affairs, in separate video clips, assured Kabul's people would be secure as they are protecting the city along with international allies. Earlier, the Taliban in a statement, assured residents of Kabul not to be afraid as they don't intend to enter the Afghan capital militarily and there will be a peaceful movement towards Kabul. The Taliban readied its forces on the outskirts of the Afghan capital from all sides on Sunday as panicked civilians prepared for the armed group's takeover of Kabul nearly 20 years after it relinquishing power in an American-led assault.

Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said fighters were remaining on the capital's outskirts as negotiations took place. "Our forces have not entered Kabul city, and we just issued a statement saying that our forces will not enter Kabul city," he told Al Jazeera from Doha, where peace talks are taking place. "We are talking and awaiting a peaceful transfer - a transition of the capital city."

Sirens could be heard along with sporadic gunfire in Kabul. Multiple helicopters were flying above the city centre dropping flares. The Taliban said it has no plans to take the Afghan capital "by force".

"Negotiations are under way to ensure that the transition process is completed safely and securely, without compromising the lives, property and honour of anyone, and without compromising the lives of Kabulis," a Taliban statement said.

"The Islamic Emirate instructs all its forces to stand at the gates of Kabul, not to try to enter the city," a spokesman for the Taliban tweeted, although some residents reported fighters peacefully entered some outer suburbs.Panicked workers fled government offices. Thousands of civilians now live in parks and open spaces in Kabul itself, fearing the future.