Pakistan along with Iran, Turkey close consulates in Balkh

Diplomats of the relevant counties who arrived in Kabul as fighting escalated have also not been entertained while several districts in Balkh province fell to the Taliban, claimed the outlet.

Three countries have closed their visa issuance sector and diplomats have returned to Kabul.

More than 20 local radio stations and media outlets in the northern and southeastern provinces have been shut down as a result of the fighting, and some other local radio stations only report on the activities of Taliban fighters in those provinces.

Local sources confirm that eight districts in Badakhshan province were captured by the Taliban overnight.

Representatives of the people of Badakhshan in the House of Representatives say that the security forces have evacuated the centres of these districts without resistance.

Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan, about 20 km northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some 74 km south of the Amu Darya river and the Uzbekistan border.