LONDON: The Taliban will not agree to an extension of the August 31 deadline for the United States to withdraw troops and a delay will bring consequences, a spokesman told Sky News.

"You can say it's a red line," spokesman Suhail Shaheen said in an interview. "If the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations -- the answer is no. Or there would be consequences."

A Taliban spokesperson tells Sky's @sallylockwood that there would be 'consequences' if the US chose to stay in the country after the 31 August deadline.

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— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 23, 2021

Meanwhile two sources in the movement told AFP on Monday that the Taliban would not announce the makeup of its government until the United States completes its troop withdrawal. " It has been decided that the formation of the government and cabinet will not be announced as long as a single US soldier is present in Afghanistan," a Taliban source said, and this was confirmed by a second insider.