KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – The Taliban warned yesterday that the US airlift from Afghanistan must end August 31, ramping up pressure on an already chaotic evacuation as new reports of rights abuses fuelled concern about the fate of thousands of people still trying to flee the country.

A senior US official said President Joe Biden is also committed to the deadline, though European leaders had pressed for more time. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Group of Seven nations will not recognise a Taliban Government unless the group guarantees people can leave the country if they wish, both before and after August deadline.

The announcements set the stage for a chaotic endgame a day after the CIA director met with a top Taliban leader in Kabul. The extraordinary meeting reflected the gravity of the crisis and America’s need to coordinate with the Taliban as it struggles to end a two-decade war against them.

Recent days have seen a flurry of efforts to speed the chaotic evacuation at Kabul’s airport, where scenes of desperation have highlighted both the disarray of the US pull-out and fears that the Taliban will resort to the brutal tactics they used when they last ruled Afghanistan.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference the US must stick to its self-imposed deadline for withdrawing all troops, saying “after that we won’t let Afghans be taken out” on evacuation flights.

He also said the Taliban would bar Afghans from accessing roads leading to the airport, while allowing foreigners to pass through in order to prevent large crowds from massing outside the facility. It was not immediately clear if they would stop Afghans who are escorted by foreigners or in the process of being evacuated by Western nations.

For now, the US military controls Afghanistan’s airspace and the military side of the Kabul airport, where American and other NATO troops are helping people board evacuation planes. There have been no commercial flights in or out since August 16, the day after the capital fell to the Taliban, capping their rapid takeover of the country.

The Taliban will take over security at the airport after the planned US pull-out, Mujahid said. It’s unclear when commercial flights would resume, putting pressure on the current evacuation efforts to get as many people out as possible.

About 21,600 people were flown out in the 24-hour period that ended early yesterday, the White House said — reflecting a significant increase as the airlift accelerates.

Meanwhile, a US official said CIA Director William Burns and Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar met — an extraordinary moment for the US agency, which for two decades targeted the Taliban in paramilitary operations. It was not clear what exactly they discussed.

The CIA partnered with Pakistani forces to arrest Baradar in 2010, and he spent eight years in a Pakistani prison before the Trump Administration persuaded Pakistan to release him in 2018 ahead of US peace talks with the Taliban.