the world health organization has warned governments against using restrictions, criticizing what he calls a premature rush to normality. it says the pandemic is not over yet and further waves could arrive later in the year. >> need to be a little more patient, remember last summer? i think that's where we are going again with a much more transmissible variant. anchor: the warning came as the

uk's prime minister confirmed most of it restrictions will be lifted into weeks. people won't have to wear facemasks and most places or maintain social distancing. boris johnson says people need to learn to live with the virus. we must be honest with ourselves . when will we be able to return to normal? anchor: taliban fighters have been gaining territory, raising concerns about purity once farm troops complete the withdrawal. if the o.p.s. prime minister has

defended the decision to fight rebels, saying they are danger. leaders say it would accept a cease-fire if certain demands are met. fire at a plastics factory has been extinguished nearly 20 hours after an explosion. at least one person died, thousands displaced. inset stories coming up next. host: the taliban's take control of more of afghanistan and as

afghan soldiers flee the country, how worrying are the latest developments? this is inside story. hello and welcome to the program. there is growing concern about the future of afghanistan as the u.s. prepares to leave. afghan forces are surrendering outposts. those that do face the taliban but of little or no resistance. the taliban is pressing on, making significant gains.

they took over 13 areas on saturday alone, the biggest single day advance. it has more than double the areas it controls. the afghan government says it is sending reinforcements to retake the territory has lost. many families have fled the fighting. soldiers surrendered multiple posts and the taliban captured a strategic area. the area has been a heartland for the group. reporter: they say they can't defeat the armed group on their own. >> there is no peace.

if one helicopter came hero be enough. why don't they use helicopters? if they killed made and who will look after my children. reporter: a local police commander says they are under resourced. >> the situation is going to be bad. commandos on the national army are far and we are on the front one. reporter: it came on the same day of a car bomb in the regional capital. the fifth district to fall to the armed group. they claim to have seized more than 100 out of nearly 400 districts in the country.

>> the majority of the afghan people are now in control. it is simply because the people know us very well in the afghan people have no problem dealing with us. reporter: many are frightened, they are concerned the security situation will only worsen once u.s. forces eventually leave. >> not only me, but people are worried the taliban will take over afghanistan. nobody is satisfied with the taliban. it has had a negative impact. reporter: the fall comes just days after u.s. and nato forces abandoned airbases. the remaining troops will officially leave the country in september, a move many regional experts say will only help the

taliban consolidate its growing. reporter: host: the u.s. agreed last year to withdraw all of its troops. just 650 troops have stayed to secure the embassy and airport. a majority of nato forces have left. president joe biden set a deadline of september 11 attacks on the u.s. for american troops to fully withdraw. the pullout has been accelerated and is expected to end before then. the taliban's military campaign could affect peace talks aimed at ending years of conflict. the afghan government and taliban negotiators have held several lines of talks in doha, but little progress has been made.

let's bring in our guests. we have a lecturer of transitional justice. from istanbul, a formally deputy you on envoy. gentlemen, welcome. thank you for being with us. the taliban claims to control 70% of territory in afghanistan. how worrying to advances? >> thanks for having me. i think the situation in afghanistan has gotten worse since the hasty withdrawal of mr. biden's command. things are not going in the right direction, taliban is taken.

the north is under siege. idp's are getting larger and larger, some groups are coming to kabul, some to the closest secure places. it all affects peace. there is no peace process, especially the delhi process seems dead locked. it affects politically, economically and socially. people are worried about the undecided future. host: a worrying development. some 1000 afghan soldiers have fled to taji qassem in the last few days. this does not bode very well. how can we expect the afghan army to take over security once

the americans pull out quickly? do you think that with reinforcements they will be able to take control? >> i think it might be unfair to take this is a generalization. the idea is right now they are enjoying momentum handed to them by the united states, based on its hasty withdrawal, and after that reinforcing the sense of impending victory by releasing intelligence reports that say the government is going to collapse and six to 12 months. all of that does not bode well with the spirit of the actual defense forces. there are other strategic reasons as well. host: is that where we are seeing fruitfully? >> yes, that is one of the

reasons. this is not going to be a rule, not going to exist. the fighting will die out to a certain extent. this has to be seen as a blitz and movement. this is unrealistic to think the taliban can sustain the fighting. this will eventually come down a little and the government and defense forces just need to hold their ground and probably attract better. host: you say this is a blitz. >> i think my position would be somewhere between the positions of your two other guests.

there is no doubt that the taliban have demonstrated an ability to control large parts of the countryside. but they have not demonstrated an ability to take and hold cities. i think it is important to remember the taliban is not a broad-based movement. there are large segments of the population for 10%, 15% of the population that are shiite. . they see the taliban is a genocidal enemy. that part of the country will resist to the bitter end.

significant parts of the country that will resist. i find it hard to believe they're going to be able to take couple -- kabul. they can operate -- the americans have two images of what might happen. one is saigon in 1975 with the north vietnamese -- in iraq in 2014 when hundreds of isis fighters -- host: do you think now is the time, even if they are not in kabul, is now the time for the u.s. to close the book on the conflict.

some say this is an irresponsible exit. >> i'm sure this is not the exit president biden would have liked. donald trump was determined to get out, year ago he signed a surrender agreement. the choice for president biden is to stay with that agreement or you break it the country is a mess, he's focused on the domestic agenda. nuclear nonproliferation. to have reversed course is not something that was easy for him to do. it has weakened the u.s. leverage.

host: speaking of negotiations, you seem to be optimistic the fighting will eventually stop. the taliban are in a strong position. they believe they are in a strong position. why negotiate right now? what is the incentive? >> i never said that the fighting would stop, i am just hypothesizing that eventually we will settle on a stalemate. it's not going to be a total victory for either end. with regards to your question, i think it is clear for the taliban, low-level delegations,

setting impossible conditions. it looks like the group within it -- they have no vision for a unified proposal or roadmap. the u.s. administration, when they signed a peace deal with the taliban, they had a plan that did not go right, right now i think it is essential to forget the prospects of peace talk, the insurgency can fight at the same time, the international community needs to take a cutthroat stance.

rather than sitting and hoping that things get better when one side wins, then must make a decision on which side to support, they must step in and sanction the violators. the offenders, the insurgency. if they want to honestly and truthfully negotiate, the international community needs to pick a side. host: let me ask you on your thoughts on settlement agreements. are you sharing the same view?

>> [indiscernible] the agreement was for elements implemented. otherwise there is no argument. nothing is promised. now we see afghanistan is facing insecurity the collapse of provincial centers and nobody is taking care of what is going on against the ground. to create a momentum on the peace process. without the peace process, there won't be any winter.

the winner will only be those terrorist groups. it will happen again. terrorist groups joining, they will terrorize the region. the peace process. host: he is right, a tier rating security situation has implications for the whole region. do you see the biden administration possibly reconsidering its decision.

>> i'm not sure either scenario is likely. they're not like the north vietnamese army. the case of the afghan army was seen as an enemy occupying force. and by the iraqi army units. the afghan army does have a commitment to their home territory, i think to the capital. i'm not sure there is going to

be a rapid collapse, what i think is more likely there's going to be a long-lasting civil war. i am not sure it's going to be possible to negotiate some kind of settlement on terms that will be acceptable to both the government and taliban. host: it's not just the taliban, there also other armed groups who are threatening the security of afghanistan. how is the biden administration plan to fulfill this pledge of preventing al qaeda and other armed groups from making afghanistan their safe haven? >> the agreement that the united states has with the taliban is that it is the taliban's job is to prevent other groups from

outside afghanistan. if those groups get a foothold in the taliban fails to meet its commitment to not allow those groups to be operating from its territory, you will see a different united states posture. president bynum is not going to tolerate. host: do you see afghanistan becoming a safe haven? >> i highly doubt that the biden administration would commit suicide by reversing their decision.

there is going to be escalated violence, there is always room for different groups to operate, it's going to spill over onto neighboring regions. again, the taliban have close familial ties with groups like al qaeda, insurgency has been fluid in its nature, fighters have been fighting and have allegiances to groups. that means the same fighters, and you can see this from prisoners. the idea is it is difficult to distinguish between them, especially during an armed conflict of this escalation.

it's going to be difficult to stay true. host: the u.s. involvement was launched with widespread international support, but over the years it became popular. what would you say is the legacy of america's involvement in afghanistan? >> it was unfair because it created pockets of civilization. the united states catastrophically failed in making sure there was good governance within afghanistan, either corruption or fraudulent elections. the democratic process in countries that have not seen democracy improves and evolves with time.

in afghanistan it kept losing popularity, policies that were culturally insensitive. the legacies of programs. the way they conducted counterinsurgency, and the fact that the governments of afghanistan that followed after were made of people that came from abroad. all of those were great failures. if those had not happened, they would be standing by the government. host: i will give you the last word. what do you think is the legacy of the american involvement in afghanistan? how concerned and worried are afghans about what lies ahead? >> if you are explaining the u.s. legacy it was a complete

failure. bringing peace, security, democracy. bringing people. we have a failed government, a failed democracy, failed governance. regarding development, we do have schools and roads. the legacy of the soviets is far more visible than u.s.. we do have big roads, big

tunnels. it is conflicting, resistible. how can we evaluate. host: history repeating itself. thank you so much, be will leave it there. thank you to my guests. thank you for watching, you can watch this program again anytime by visiting our website al jazeera.com. for further discussion go on facebook. our handle is at a.j. inside story. bye for now.

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