BREAKING | Afghanistan Crisis: Taliban Commanders Claim To Have Taken Over Control Of Presidential Palace

<p><strong>New Delhi:&nbsp;</strong>Taliban commanders say they have taken over control of Afghanistan's presidential palace, news agency Reuters reported on Sunday.</p> <p>This comes after a senior interior ministry official told the news agency that Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani has left the country for Tajikistan. However, the President's advisor rubbished the claims and said that he has not yet left the country.</p> <p><strong>ALSO READ | <span style="color: #e03e2d;"><a style="color: #e03e2d;" title="" href="https://ift.tt/3CTeMR0" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-toggle="tooltip" data-html="true" data-original-title="Story ID: 1476308" aria-describedby="tooltip171402">Ashraf Ghani Leaves Afghanistan As Taliban Seeks Peaceful Transfer Of Power In 'Next Few Days'</a></span></strong></p> <p>Former President Hamid Karzai assured the people in a message that he will stay in the country. He is urging people to stay home and is trying to resolve the issue through dialogue, TOLO news reported.</p> <p><span data-offset-key="2u4kn-0-0">Ashraf Ghani has left Afghanistan along with his close aides, the Afghanistan-based news platform had reported sources as saying. The media reports about the same </span><span data-offset-key="2u4kn-1-0">have</span><span data-offset-key="2u4kn-2-0"> been refuted by Ghani's advisor.</span></p> <p>Ahead of the claim over the presidential palace, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that in order to prevent looting and chaos their forces will enter some parts of Kabul and occupy outposts that have been evacuated by security forces, TOLO news reported.</p> <p>He asked the people to not panic over their entrance into the city.</p> <p>Sources close to the Taliban had reportedly said that the group agreed for Ghani to resign after a political agreement, followed by handing over the power to a transitional government.</p> <p>A Taliban spokesperson told the BBC that the group wants to take control of Afghanistan "in the next few days".<br /><br />"In the next few days, we want a peaceful transfer," Suhail Shaheen who is based in Qatar and is a part of the group's negotiating team, told the BBC.</p> <p>Taliban insurgents on Sunday entered the outskirts of the capital city causing panic and fear among the residents.</p> <p>In a matter of days, the Taliban swept through major parts of Afghanistan, seizing control of around 25 of the 34 provincial capitals, including key cities such as Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif and Jalalabad.</p>