ISLAMABAD: Pakistan does not plan to close its embassy in Kabul, the Pakistani foreign office said on Sunday, as Taliban fighters entered the city in their rapid military takeover of the country.

The Taliban began entering Kabul on Sunday afternoon after taking control of all of Afghanistan’s major cities.

Several Western countries have since rushed to evacuate their embassy staff and nationals. The United States has airlifted its diplomats by helicopter.

“Pakistan is trying not to close the Pakistani embassy,” foreign office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said in a statement.

“Pakistan is closely following the unfolding situation in Afghanistan,” he said, adding that the country’s mission in Kabul continues to extend consular services as well as coordinating flights for Pakistanis, Afghans and nationals of other countries.

“A special inter-ministerial cell has been established in the Ministry of Interior to facilitate visa/arrival matters for diplomatic personnel, UN agencies, international organizations, media and others,” Chaudhri said.

The Taliban are on the brink of a complete takeover of Afghanistan.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement the group was in talks with the government for a peaceful surrender of Kabul.

Power would be handed over to a transitional administration, the government’s acting interior minister, Abdul Sattar Mirzakawal, said in a video message shared by Afghanistan’s TOLOnews TV channel.

“There won’t be an attack on the city, it is agreed that there will be a peaceful handover,” Mirzakawal said without elaborating.

There was no immediate word on the situation from President Ashraf Ghani.

The developments cap a lightning advance by the militants who were ousted from Kabul 20 years ago by US-led forces for protecting Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on America.

The collapse of the Afghan government defense has stunned diplomats. Last week, a US intelligence estimate said Kabul could hold out for at least three months.