UNITED STATES peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Qatar yesterday for talks with world officials to formulate a joint international statement on the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. 

Envoys and diplomats from the US, Britain, the European Union, the United Nations, China, Pakistan and Uzbekistan gathered for three days of discussions as the religious fundamentalist Taliban fighters continue to make sweeping advances following Western forces’ withdrawal. 

They were later joined by Russian officials and the chairman of Afghanistan’s high council for national reconciliation Dr Abdullah Abdulla, representing the Kabul government. 

It was not clear if Taliban representatives were to attend the meetings, with the Islamists saying they had yet to be invited. 

The extremist group took control of Aybak on Monday, the sixth provincial capital to fall in a matter of days, having seized control of the economically and strategically important city of Kunduz on Sunday. 

Washington announced in April that it would withdraw all its forces from Afghanistan by September, bringing an end to nearly 20 years of war and occupation.  

The US has denied that its mission ended in defeat but the Taliban has continued to surge since the announcement, plunging the country into to turmoil; the UN has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe.