President Joe Biden will stick to his August 31 deadline to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan despite pressures from G7 leaders to extend it. Biden has agreed with the Pentagon's recommendation to adhere to the withdrawal date, Reuters reported. The Pentagon recommendation was made on Monday based on concerns about security risks to American forces, a senior administration official said. Biden had asked the Pentagon for contingency plans to stay longer should it be necessary, the official noted. The president met with G7 leaders on Tuesday morning to discuss the situation on the ground in Afghanistan, particularly the evacuation measures being taken. Biden spoke for seven minutes during the virtual meeting, according to the White House. The United States has set conditions on its keeping to the deadline. American officials told the Taliban that the U.S. withdrawal by Biden's Aug. 31 deadline is contingent on the group's cooperation in facilitating evacuations, the official said. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Tuesday the group will not extend the August 31 deadline for all U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Tuesday they will not extend the August 31 deadline for all troops to leave Afghanistan - just 24 hours after Joe Biden sent his CIA director to negotiate with the militant group in a bid to get the remaining American citizens and Afghan allies out. 'We will not extend the deadline for the presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan,' Myjahid said in a Tuesday press conference as G7 leaders met with Biden to push him to keep troops in Afghanistan to evacuate the maximum number of westerners and locals. 'They are capable of evacuating their citizens and troops by August 31', the defiant Taliban spokesman said. 'All people should be removed prior to that date. After that we do not allow them. We will take a different stance. The thinly-veiled threat means that unless Biden opts to use military might to enforce control of the area, troops will have to abandon the humanitarian operation and start focusing on their own exit plan as soon as tomorrow. The Biden administration ramped up their airlift at Kabul airport by evacuating 21,600 people in the last 24 hours and the Pentagon insisted on Tuesday they can still get everyone out in the next seven days. The statement from the insurgents comes after CIA Director William Burns went to Kabul on Monday for a secret meeting with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar, U.S. officials familiar with the matter told The Washington Post. Burns was dispatched to the capital city of Afghanistan as the administration continues to grapple with a chaotic scene at the airport and struggles to evacuate Americans from Kabul. President Joe Biden will stick to his August 31 deadline to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan despite pressures from G7 leaders to extend it Biden met with G7 leaders on Tuesday morning to discuss Afghanistan Baradar is now playing the role of the Taliban's counterpart to Burns 11 years after he was arrested in a joint CIA-Pakistani operation, which put him in prison for eight years. The president is joining G7 leaders on a virtual call Tuesday morning for an emergency meeting on Afghanistan amid intense pressure from NATO and world leaders for the U.S. to keep their troops on the ground and prevent a humanitarian disaster. After the meeting, Biden will then provide an update in remarks Tuesday afternoon and is expected to decide within the next 24 hours whether he will keep the military in Afghanistan beyond the deadline. Taliban leaders have warned of 'consequences' if the U.S. doesn't keep to its August 31 deadline. The discussion between Burns and Baradar on Monday likely involved the deadline for all U.S. military presence to be out of Afghanistan – including ending the evacuation of U.S. citizens and Afghan allies, the report notes. In other developments in the Afghanistan crisis today: Washington pulled off its biggest haul of evacuations since the crisis started over the last 24 hours to early Tuesday morning, with 37 military jets evacuating 21,600 people from Kabul. The US still does not know the exact number of how many Americans or Afghan allies on the ground that need evacuating. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said there is 'no change' to the military deadline of August 31 and the aim is to get everyone out in seven days. Kirby also said there is 'not much distance' between what the Taliban is saying publicly and what they are saying privately about wanting westerners out by August 31 G7 leaders are today expected to press Biden to extend the August 31 deadline to get the maximum number of westerners and Afghan allies out as possible The comments come less than 24 hours after President Joe Biden sent CIA Director William Burns (left) went to Kabul on Monday for a secret meeting with the Taliban's de facto leader Abdul Ghani Baradar (right) Likely discussed at the meeting Monday was the August 31 deadline for total troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. U.S. soldiers guard Kabul airport on Tuesday as thousands of desperate Afghans crowd at the gates in the hopes of fleeing the Taliban An aerial picture taken Monday shows crowds and traffic outside the Kabul airport as Americans and Afghan allies attempt to flee Afghanistan Satellite images from Monday show a massive crowd around a gate near a military checkpoint outside the Kabul airport President Joe Biden said U.S. military would stay in Kabul past the deadline if needed to continue evacuating Americans stranded in Afghanistan Taliban fighters stand on top of containers doing crowd control outside the Kabul airpor Washington pulled off its biggest haul of evacuations since the crisis started over the last 24 hours to early Tuesday morning, with 37 military jets evacuating 21,600 people from Kabul, the White House announced. But they still don't know the number of American citizens and Afghan allies stranded on the ground that need evacuating. 'Since August 14, the U.S. has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 58,700 people. Since the end of July, we have re-located approximately 63,900 people,' a White House official said. From Sunday to early Monday morning, 28 military jets rescued around 10,400 people. The latest numbers reveal that over half of the total evacuations from Afghanistan have taken place in the last two days. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby assured in a briefing Tuesday: 'There's been no change to the timeline of the mission which is to have this completed by the end of the month.' 'We continue to make progress every day in getting Americans, as well as SIV applicants and vulnerable Afghans out,' he added. 'We still believe – certainly now that we have been able to increase the capacity and the flow – we believe that we have that we that we have the capability, the ability to get that done by the end of the month.' The president is still hesitant, however, to deploy troops outside the Kabul airport because he doesn't want a Black Hawk Down-style incident, he told commanders last week of the incident where 18 Americans were killed in 1993 during the Somali Civil War. Suhail Shaheen, a member of the Taliban delegation in Qatar's capital city Doha said Monday U.S. military continuing to evacuate past this month would amount to 'extending occupation' and that is 'a red line'. 'If the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations – the answer is no. Or there would be consequences,' he told Sky News in an interview. ' 'It will create mistrust between us,' Shaheen continued. 'If they are intent on continuing the occupation it will provoke a reaction.' After the interview Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said: 'We have seen the public statements by the Taliban spokesman about their views on 31 August, I think we all understand that view.' 'The goal is to get as many people out as fast as possible,' he added, 'and while we're glad to see the numbers that we got yesterday, we're not going to rest on any laurels.' 'The focus is on trying to do this as best we can by the end of the month and as the Secretary [of Defense] said, if there needs - if we need, if he needs - to have additional conversations with the Commander in Chief about that timeline, he'll do that but we're just not at that point right now.' Monday's warning signals the Taliban could seek to shut down the airlifts out of the Kabul airport in just over a week. Lawmakers, refugee groups, veterans' organizations and U.S. allies have said ending the evacuation on August 31 could strand countless Afghans and foreigners still hoping for flights out. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, co-founder and head of the political office of the Taliban - Held for eight years in Pakistani prison before being released on orders from the U.S. government Pictured: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, co-founder and deputy leader of the Taliban, makes a video statement on August 16 following the fall of Kabul Age: 53 years old Taliban Rank: Co-founder, head of political office Joined: 1994 Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the co-founders of the Taliban, was freed from jail in Pakistan three years ago at the request of the U.S. government. Just nine months ago, he posed for pictures with Donald Trump's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to sign a peace deal in Doha which today lies in tatters. On Sunday, his forces seized Kabul and he is now tipped to become Afghanistan's next leader in a reversal of fortune which humiliates Washington. While Haibatullah Akhundzada is the Taliban's overall leader, Baradar is head of its political office and one of the most recognisable faces of the chiefs who have been involved in peace talks in Qatar. His name Baradar means 'brother', a title which was conferred by Taliban founder Mullah Omar himself as a mark of affection. The 53-year-old was deputy leader under ex-chief Mullah Mohammed Omar, whose support for Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden led to the US-led invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11. Baradar arrived in Kandahar Province on Tuesday, landing in the insurgent group's former capital just days after they took control of the country. A Taliban spokesman said on Twitter that Baradar and a high level delegation 'reached their beloved country in the afternoon' from Qatar. Born in Uruzgan province in 1968, Baradar was raised in Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban movement. He fought with the mujahideen against the Soviets in the 1980s until they were driven out in 1989. Afterwards, Afghanistan was gripped by a blood civil war between rival warlords and Baradar set up an Islamic school in Kandahar with his former commander Mohammed Omar. The two mullahs helped to found the Taliban movement, an ideology which embraced hardline orthodoxy and strived for the creation of an Islamic Emirate. Fuelled by zealotry, hatred of greedy warlords and with financial backing from Pakistan's secret services, the Taliban seized power in 1996 after conquering provincial capitals before marching on Kabul, just as they have in recent months. Baradar had a number of different roles during the Taliban's five-year reign and was the deputy defence minister when the US invaded in 2001. He went into hiding but remained active in the Taliban's leadership in exile. In September 2020, Baradar was pictured with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who 'urged the Taliban to seize this opportunity to forge a political settlement and reach a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire,' the US said in a statement In 2010, the CIA tracked him down to the Pakistani city of Karachi and in February of that year the Pakistani intelligence service (ISI) arrested him. But in 2018, he was released at the request of the Trump administration as part of their ongoing negotiations with the Taliban in Qatar, on the understanding that he could help broker peace. In February 2020, Baradar signed the Doha Agreement in which the U.S. pledged to leave Afghanistan on the basis that the Taliban would enter into a power-sharing arrangement with President Ashraf Ghani's government in Kabul. He was pictured in September with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who 'urged the Taliban to seize this opportunity to forge a political settlement and reach a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire,' the US said in a statement. Pompeo 'welcomed Afghan leadership and ownership of the effort to end 40 years of war and ensure that Afghanistan is not a threat to the United States or its allies.' The Doha deal was heralded as a momentous peace declaration but has been proved to be nothing but a ploy by the Taliban. The jihadists waited until thousands of American troops had left before launching a major offensive to recapture the country, undoing two decades of work by the US-led coalition. Advertisement Before details of Burns' secret meeting, State Department spokesperson Ned Price was asked on Monday why no senior U.S. officials had engaged with Baradar yet. 'Our discussions with the Taliban have been operational, tactical,' Price said. 'They have been focused largely on our near-term operations and near-term goals… what is going on at the airport compound.' 'That is what we're focused on at the moment.' Burns also made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan in April as concerns mounted about the Afghan government's ability to fend off the Taliban after the U.S. withdrawal. Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said there will be 'consequences' if Western forces stay after August 31 During a congressional hearing earlier this year, Burns said neither the Islamic State nor al-Qaeda in Afghanistan has the capability to mount attacks inside the U.S. – but admitted that during a troops withdrawal, the ability to act on threats will be depleted. 'When the time comes for the U.S. military to withdraw, the U.S. government's ability to collect and act on threats will diminish,' Burns said at the time. 'That's simply a fact.' During the G7 meeting on Tuesday morning, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to press Biden for an extension to get out the maximum number of foreigners and Afghan allies possible. The U.S. has ramped up airlifts to evacuate more than 17,000 people in a day and Biden finally ordered troops to rescue Americans outside the airport in a race against time before the withdrawal deadline. Meanwhile, U.S. Special Operations rescued 16 Americans from an unspecified location around two hours outside Kabul. The Pentagon revealed it was carried out by helicopter without disclosing further details. It comes after it emerged that the President told top commanders last week that he was wary of deploying soldiers outside the airport because he didn't want a Black Hawk Down-style incident. Eighteen Americans were killed when their helicopters were shot down over Mogadishu in 1993 during the Somali Civil War. A military plane takes off from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Monday Washington pulled off its biggest haul of evacuations since the crisis started over the last 24 hours to early Tuesday morning, with 37 military jets evacuating 21,600 people from Kabul. Here families board a C-17 evacuation flight on Monday Adam Schiff warns it's 'unlikely' Biden will rescue all Americans and Afghan allies before August 31 Mr Schiff claimed that President Biden is 'unlikely' to meet his August 31 deadline to evacuate US citizens and their allies from Afghanistan. Schiff said a full evacuation was 'possible' but 'very unlikely given the number of Americans who still need to be evacuated, the number of SIV's, the number of others who are members of the Afghan press, civil society leaders, women leaders.' Speaking outside the US Capitol, Schiff continued: 'I am encouraged to see the numbers of people evacuated, increasing readily to the point where we evacuated 11,000 people in a single day,' Schiff continued. 'Nonetheless, given the logistical difficulties of moving people to the airport and the limited number of workarounds, it's hard for me to see that being fully complete by the end of the month. And I'm certainly of the view that we maintain a military presence as long as it's necessary to get all U.S. persons out and to meet our moral and ethical obligation to our Afghan partners.' He added: 'Given the number of Americans who still need to be evacuated, the number of SIVs, the number of others who are members of the Afghan press, civil society leaders women leaders, it's hard for me to imagine all of that can be accomplished between now and the end of the month,' he said. Advertisement Rescue efforts became increasingly urgent on Tuesday as Spain warned it would have to leave people behind and France said it would stop airlifts on Thursday - five days before the deadline. The airport has become a relative safe haven but accessing it has proven near impossible due to Taliban checkpoints and chaos among the crowds outside the perimeter. While Biden and his administration have said the Taliban has promised safe passage to the airport for American citizens, there are reports that Americans are being assaulted as they try to reach Hamid Karzai International. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin admitted over the weekend that American citizens still trapped in Kabul are being beaten by these Islamic militant fighters and prevented from reaching the airport. James Miervaldis, Chairman of No One Left Behind, told DailyMail.com: 'We have at least 1,200 families with Special Immigrant Visas in hand stuck outside the airport. How is the State Department going to evacuate them?' The veteran nonprofit charity is working to get Afghan translators and others who worked with the U.S. over the last two decades out of the country. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said negotiations with the Taliban are continuing as the administration looks for additional ways to safely move more Americans and others into the Kabul airport. 'We are in talks with the Taliban on a daily basis through both political and security channels,' he said. Kirby also said Tuesday: 'There's no question that ... as we work through this that the daily communication with Taliban commanders is going to have to continue.' 'That's just, that's just a hard fact there,' he added. Secretary of State Antony Blinken didn't dispute on Sunday that the U.S. does have to ask the Taliban for 'permission' to conduct evacuations. 'Someone in our audience might listen to you, Mr. Secretary, and say, 'Oh, so we have to ask the Taliban for permission for American citizens to leave.' True or not true?' CBS News' Face the Nation fill in host Major Garrett asked Blinken of the 'agreement' between the Islamic militant group and Washington. 'They are in control of Kabul. That is the reality,' Blinken responded without denying the claim Garrett detailed. 'That's the reality that we have to deal with,' he added. 'How comfortable are you with that, Mr. Secretary?' the host questioned the State Department chief. He continued to deflect in saying: 'What I am focused on, what we're all focused on, is getting people out and making sure that we're doing everything possible to do that.' After more than a week of evacuations plagued by major obstacles, including Taliban forces and crushing crowds that are making approaching the airport difficult and dangerous, the number of people flown out met - and exceeded - U.S. projections for the first time. The Pentagon said it added a fourth U.S. military base, in New Jersey, to three others - in Virginia, Texas and Wisconsin - that are prepared to temporarily house arriving Afghans. Major General Hank Taylor, the Joint Staff deputy director for regional operations, told reporters there are now about 1,200 Afghans at those military bases. The four bases combined are capable of housing up to 25,000 evacuees, Kirby said. Afghan evacuees continued to arrive at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington on Monday. Exhaustion clouded the faces of many of the adults. Taylor said at a Pentagon briefing Tuesday: 'It has been challenging to keep up with the flow.' 'We have made progress in caring for and safeguarding these vulnerable individuals and getting them moving on where we are committed to doing more,' he added, 'and to continue to expand and improve our facilities from adding shelter to additional sanitation, hand washing stations refrigerator trucks, providing cold water, and the appropriate food, and we're working with our partners to increase this capacity, as soon as possible.' Kriby, who also spoke at the briefing Tuesday gave an update on the babies who were pictured being taken care of by U.S. military. 'I just have a slight update on the, on the baby count,' Kriby said, confirming there are three – one on a C-17 and two others who already arrived in Rammstein, Germany. 'I am told that moms and dads and babies are all fine and healthy,' he said. How does it feel to be here, a journalist asked one man arriving in D.C. 'We are safe,' he answered. Airbnb also announced on Tuesday that it is dedicated to allocating enough room to house 20,000 Afghan refugees in locations nationwide, partially funded through donations to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund. 'As tens of thousands of Afghan refugees resettle around the world, where they stay will be the first chapter in their new lives,' founder and CEO Brian Chesky said in a statement on the initiative. 'For these 20,000 refugees, my hope is that the Airbnb community will provide them with not only a safe place to rest and start over, but also a warm welcome home.' Biden is ready to strike deal with Taliban to pardon Afghan drug lord who has been in US prison for 16 years in exchange for the last American hostage abducted last year but demands proof of life first The US could release an Afghan drug lord to the Taliban in exchange for their last American hostage - but only if they provide a confirmation of life. Drug lord Bashir Noorzai, who is a top figure in the Pashtun tribe which elusive Taliban Supreme Commander Hibatullah Akhundzada belongs, has been held in a federal prison for the last 16 years. He travelled to the US in 2005 under the pretext of diplomatic talks, but upon arrival he was arrested by the DEA for his role in a global heroin trade. And now, Newsweek reports that President Biden is prepared to swap Noorzai with the Taliban in exchange for Mark Frerichs, who was the last American to be taken hostage by the group. Frerichs was taken hostage by the Taliban in January last year by a group believed to be associated with the Haqqani network - who are a militia group positioned on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and who are aligned with the Taliban. Speaking to the publication, a government official, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'We are eager to explore ways to bring Frerichs back. But these explorations are predicated on receiving a recent proof of life. The bottom line is that any progress moving forward lies in receiving a proof of life.' A swap deal involving Frerichs and Noorzai has been welcomed by Charlene Cakora, who is Frerichs' sister. Drug lord Bashir Noorzai (pictured), who is a top figure in the Pashtun tribe which elusive Taliban Supreme Commander Hibatullah Akhundzada belongs, has been held in a federal prison for the last 16 years She said in a statement sent to the publication that although she didn't like the idea of letting Noorzai go, it was worth it to have her brother released. And she urged President Biden to move quickly to ensure a deal can be struck. However, a former senior U.S. official has said that the foundation of any hostage swap is a solid proof of life which is 'itself is sort of its own art form'. The potential hostage swap comes as the chair of the House Intelligence Committee warned that President Biden is 'unlikely' to meet his August 31 deadline to evacuate US citizens and their allies from Afghanistan. Now, reports suggest the President is considering the possibility of trading Noorzai with the Taliban in for Mark Frerichs, who was the last American hostage taken by the group Adam Schiff made the grim prediction after an intelligence briefing Monday evening, as the Taliban rejected a mooted extension to the withdrawal date. Schiff said a full evacuation was 'possible' but 'very unlikely given the number of Americans who still need to be evacuated, the number of SIV's, the number of others who are members of the Afghan press, civil society leaders, women leaders.' Speaking outside the US Capitol, Schiff continued: 'I am encouraged to see the numbers of people evacuated, increasing readily to the point where we evacuated 11,000 people in a single day,' Schiff continued. 'Nonetheless, given the logistical difficulties of moving people to the airport and the limited number of workarounds, it's hard for me to see that being fully complete by the end of the month. And I'm certainly of the view that we maintain a military presence as long as it's necessary to get all U.S. persons out and to meet our moral and ethical obligation to our Afghan partners.' He added: 'Given the number of Americans who still need to be evacuated, the number of SIVs, the number of others who are members of the Afghan press, civil society leaders women leaders, it's hard for me to imagine all of that can be accomplished between now and the end of the month,' he said. Who is Bashir Noorzai? Haji Bashir Noorzai is a drug lord and financial backer of the Taliban. In 2005, he flew from Dubai to the US under the pretext of diplomatic talks. However, upon his arrival in New York City, he was arrested by the DEA for his role in the establishment of a global heroin trafficking operation - the funds of which had been helping the Taliban. After a trial, he was sentenced to life in a US federal prison. Advertisement All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility