The Floridian 
CIA Director William Burns reportedly held a secret meeting Monday with the Taliban’s de facto leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the highest-level diplomatic encounter since the group took control amid toppling of the Afghan government last Sunday.
According to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, President Biden dispatched Burns to Kabul, Afghanistan, to meet with the Taliban leader that likely involved discussions over the Aug. 31 deadline over the U.S military withdrawal deadline in what the president is calling “one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history.” The official called the meeting “an exchange of views on what needs to happen to be done” before the Aug. 31 deadline.
The meeting was first reported by The Washington Post.
The Biden administration has said they are in regular constant contact with Taliban officials throughout the course of the chaotic and deadly evacuation process.
Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid during a press conference Tuesday said the Taliban couldn’t confirm that Baradar has met with the spy chief but said the top leader is meeting with all embassies in Kabul.
Baradar, who headed the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, is one of the top leaders in the Islamist group. He is also the Taliban chief negotiator in peace talks with the Trump administration on the withdrawal of American forces. According to the Washington Post, Baradar spent eight years behind bars after the CIA arrested him in 2010 during a joint operation the agency conducted with Pakistan.
Before reports of the secret face-to-face between Burns and Baradar emerged, State Department spokesman Ned Price was asked during Monday’s press briefing on why senior Biden administration officials haven’t sought to engage with the top Taliban leader amid the chaotic evacuation.
“Our discussions with the Taliban have been operational, tactical,” Price said. “They have been focused largely on our near-term operations and near-term goals… what is going on at the airport compound… That is what we’re focused on at the moment.”
Biden previously set Aug. 31 as his deadline to finish the withdrawal of the U.S. troops that led to an increase of forces returning to Kabul as they scrambled over chaotic evacuation efforts now in its second week to evacuate tens of thousands of American citizens and Afghan allies following the Taliban’s rapid seizing of power of the war-torn country.
The pace of the evacuations has accelerated over the last 24 hours. According to a White House official, about 21,600 people evacuated from Kabul in the 24-hour period — 12,700 evacuees on 37 U.S. military flights, while another 8,900 people were flown out on 57 coalition flights. Since the airlift began Aug. 14, the U.S. has evacuated approximately 58,700 people; the White House official relayed the info to reporters Tuesday morning.
Despite the increased evacuation efforts, the Biden administration cannot provide the exact amount of how many Americans were evacuated since Aug. 14 and how many remain awaiting to be evacuated in the war-torn country.
The president is under pressure from European allies to extend the timetable for the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. With Kabul’s Airport the only available exit point from Afghanistan, many nations are reliant on the U.S. military’s heavy presence, which currently has 6,000 troops to assist with enabling the airlift evacuations.
However, the Taliban has warned that they will not grant Biden or its allies any extension in its withdrawal evacuations, with any delay past Aug 31 will be seen as crossing a “red line” that would trigger unspecified “consequences.”
“If the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations – the answer is no. Or there would be consequences. It will create mistrust between us. If they are intent on continuing the occupation, it will provoke a reaction,” Taliban spokesperson Dr. Suhail Shaheen told Australian Sky News Monday.
The CIA declined to comment on the meeting, citing the agency’s policy of not discussing travels and meetings of the spy chief.
