MOSCOW, August 26. /TASS/. Media reports of the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) restricting the freedom of former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and head of the High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah are untrue, chief of the Hezb-e Islami party’s headquarters Habib-ur-Rahman Hekmatyar told TASS on Thursday.
"It’s not true," he said. "But we have some difficulties in movement and it's normal due to the big changes we faced in one day," Habib-ur-Rahman Hekmatyar added.
He also said that his family members, including his father, Hezb-e Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and himself, were safe.
CNN reported earlier, citing sources, that on Monday, Taliban members had taken away Karzai’s cars and confiscated weapons from his security guards. The ex-president was prompted to move to Abdullah Abdullah’s house, which was searched on Wednesday and as a result, both Karzai and Abdullah were left without protection. CNN added that they were in fact under house arrest.
On August 15, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani stepped down and fled the country and Taliban fighters swept into the capital, Kabul, without meeting any resistance. Those unwilling to recognize Taliban rule have organized resistance in the Panjshir Valley, led by Ahmad Massoud. Former Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who declared himself caretaker president, called on the Afghan people to support Massoud. Abdullah Abdullah, Hamid Karzai, and leader of the Islamic Party Gulbuddin Hekmatyar created a coordination council for the peaceful transfer of power to the Taliban after militants had entered the capital. They held a series of meetings with Taliban members on forming new government agencies.
Meanwhile, Western nations are in the process of evacuating their citizens and diplomatic personnel, as well as Afghan nationals who worked for them. Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian Defense Ministry to evacuate Russians, the citizens of Collective Security Treaty Organization countries and Ukraine.