Kabul/Wahsington: Leaders of the Group of Seven countries were set to discuss on Tuesday whether to seek an extension to a August 31 deadline for the evacuation of thousands of people trying to flee Afghanistan and whether to recognise or sanction a Taliban government.
Widespread chaos punctuated by sporadic violence has engulfed Kabul's airport since the Taliban took over the Afghan capital on August 15, with Western and Afghan forces driving back crowds desperate to flee.
US President Joe Biden, who has said US troops might stay beyond the deadline, has warned the evacuation was going to be "hard and painful" and much could still go wrong.
Beyond the need to extract thousands of Americans, citizens of allied countries and Afghans who worked with foreign forces, Department of Defence officials said it would still take days to fly out the 6,000 troops deployed to secure and run the airlift.
Democratic US Representative Adam Schiff, chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, told reporters after a briefing on Afghanistan by intelligence officials that he did not believe the evacuation could be completed in the eight remaining days.
"I think it's possible but I think it's very unlikely given the number of Americans who still need to be evacuated," Schiff said.
A Taliban official said foreign forces had not sought an extension and it would not be granted if they had. Washington said negotiations were continuing.
