Afghanistan: Saudi Arabia calls on Taliban to preserve lives, property

Saudi Arabia called on the Taliban and "all Afghan parties" on Monday to preserve lives and property after the insurgents seized Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.

A statement issued by the Saudi foreign ministry on Twitter added that the kingdom "stands with the choices that the Afghan people make without any interference", expressing hope that the situation in the central Asian state stabilises as soon as possible.

Saudi Arabia joins Bahrain and Qatar as the only countries from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) so far that have commented on the situation in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of Kabul on Sunday.

Earlier on Monday, Bahrain, the current chair of the GCC, announced it would initiate consultations with the other Gulf Arab states on the crisis in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Qatar said it was aiding in the evacuation of Afghanistan, doing its utmost to help evacuate diplomats and foreign staff in international organisations seeking to leave the war-torn country.

On Sunday the United Arab Emirates said it had been working to help facilitate the evacuation of foreign diplomatic staff from Afghanistan through its airports. The UAE is a major international air transit hub.

The UAE's efforts included the evacuation of diplomatic staff from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Egypt, Australia, and the European Union, it said in a statement.