The Taliban has issued a warning to both the US and Great Britain to withdraw their forces from Afghanistan - or face "consequences".
During an interview with Sky News, Taliban spokesman Dr. Suhail Shaheen said that the Taliban - who took over political control of Afghanistan after marching into the presidential palace in Kabul on August 15 - will not accept an extension from either the US or UK.
This comes after President Biden said on Sunday (August 22) during a press conference that although the final deadline to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan is August 31, "there’s discussions going on among us and the military about extending."
Watch Dr. Shaheen's comments below:However, Dr. Shaheen has responded by telling Sky News: "It's a red line. President Biden announced that on 31 August they would withdraw all their military forces. So if they extend it that means they are extending occupation while there is no need for that."
The Taliban spokesman then added: "If the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations - the answer is no. Or there would be consequences.
Dr. Shaheen then said that extending the deadline will "create mistrust" between the US and UK and the Taliban, before saying that a continuation of occupation "will provoke a reaction".
As reported by the Daily Mail, on Monday morning UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed that the timeline for the ongoing evacuation efforts is "down to hours now, not weeks".
That being said, Sky News has also reported that Westminister hasn't set a "hard deadline" for when UK evacuation efforts will end and have acknowledged the Taliban will have to be involved in the process if it needs to be extended past August 31.
In his interview with Sky News, Dr. Shaheen said that Afghan citizens attempting to flee the country has nothing to do with "being worried or scared".
Instead, he claimed that those fleeing the country "want to reside in Western countries and that is a kind of economic migration because Afghanistan is a poor country and 70% of the people of Afghanistan live under the line of poverty so everyone wants to resettle in Western countries to have a prosperous life."
Meanwhile, despite facing criticism for withdrawing from the country, President Joe Biden once again defended his decision during his press conference on Sunday, telling reporters:
"I’m convinced I’m absolutely correct in not deciding to send more young women and men to war, for a war that, in fact, is no longer warranted."
Meanwhile, also on Sunday, for the third time ever in history, the Pentagon activated Stage I of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) - which allows the Department of Defense access to commercial air mobility resources.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby revealed that it was calling upon American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, Omni Air, Hawaiian Airlines, and United Airlines to supply flights to assist with the ongoing evacuation efforts.