KABUL: Taleban fighters in a vehicle patrol the streets of Kabul yesterday. - AFP

KABUL: The Taleban warned yesterday there would be "consequences" if the United States and its allies extend their presence in Afghanistan beyond next week, as chaos continued to overwhelm Kabul airport. The hardline Islamists' takeover of the country last weekend shocked Western nations, coming just two weeks before an August 31 deadline for all troops to fully withdraw from the country.

To manage the chaotic airlifting of foreigners and Afghans-many of whom fear reprisals for working with Western nations-thousands of soldiers have poured back into Afghanistan, with pressure growing on Washington to extend the deadline. But the Taleban, who have so far sought to strike a more moderate tone, showed no willingness to compromise on the US pullout. "If the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations-the answer is no. Or there would be consequences," Taleban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Sky News yesterday.

Staying beyond the agreed deadline would be "extending occupation", he added.

Around 16,000 people were evacuated over the past 24 hours from Afghanistan through the Kabul airport, the Pentagon said yesterday as the US speeds toward completing its airlift by an August 31 deadline. General Hank Taylor told reporters that 61 military, commercial and charter flights involving a number of countries flew out from Hamid Karzai International Airport in the 24 hours to 3 am yesterday (0700 GMT) carrying people escaping the country after the Taleban seized power. Of the total evacuated that day, 11,000 were taken out by the US military airlift operations, Taylor said.

Meanwhile, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said Sunday Afghanistan should never again be allowed to shelter "terrorist organizations", and called for inclusive dialogue to resolve the crisis following the Taleban's takeover. The Jeddah-based organization said it would dispatch envoys to Afghanistan to stress the importance of "peace, stability, and national reconciliation".

Two Taleban sources meanwhile told AFP the group would not announce the makeup of its government or cabinet until the last US soldier has left the country. The rush to leave Kabul has sparked harrowing scenes and killed at least eight people, some crushed to death while at least one person died after falling from a moving plane. One Afghan was killed and three others were injured in a dawn firefight yesterday that according to the German military erupted between Afghan guards and unknown assailants.

German and American troops "participated in further exchange of fire", the German army said in a statement. The Taleban, infamous for an ultra-strict interpretation of sharia law during their initial 1996-2001 rule, have repeatedly vowed a softer version this time. President Biden has insisted he wants to end the US military presence and the airlifts by August 31.But with the European Union and Britain saying it would be impossible to get everyone out by then, Biden is under pressure to extend the deadline.

In the streets of the capital, the Taleban have enforced a calm of a kind, with their armed forces patrolling the streets and manning checkpoints. Visually, they have also been looking to stamp their authority, ensuring the tri-colored national flag is replaced with their white banner. At a roadside in Kabul at the weekend, young men sold Taleban flags, which bear in black text the Muslim proclamation of faith and the regime's formal name: "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan".

"Our goal is to spread the flag of the Islamic Emirate throughout Afghanistan," said seller Ahmad Shakib, who studies economics at university. Outside of Kabul, there have been flickers of resistance against the Taleban. Some ex-government troops have gathered in the Panjshir Valley, north of the capital-long known as an anti-Taleban bastion. The Taleban said yesterday their fighters had surrounded resistance forces holed up in the valley, but were looking to negotiate rather than take the fight to them.

Taleban fighters "are stationed near Panjshir", spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted, saying they had the area surrounded on three sides. "The Islamic Emirate is trying to resolve this issue peacefully," he added. The announcement follows scattered reports of clashes overnight, with pro-Taleban social media accounts claiming gunmen were massing, and Afghanistan's former vice president Amrullah Saleh saying resistance forces were holding strong. One of the leaders of the movement in Panjshir, named the National Resistance Front, is the son of famed anti-Taleban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.

The NRF is prepared for a "long-term conflict" but is also still seeking to negotiate with the Taleban about an inclusive government, its spokesman Ali Maisam Nazary told AFP in an interview on the weekend. "The conditions for a peace deal with the Taleban are decentralization, a system that ensures social justice, equality, rights, and freedom for all," he said. - AFP