Afghanistan crisis: Joe Biden to deliver national address

US president Biden will address his nation at 3:45pm ET on Monday, which means it will be 00:15 on Tuesday in Afghanistan, and 1:15am in India.

US president Joe Biden announced on Monday he will address the nation on the current situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has seized power from the Ashraf Ghani-led government in the wake of the American troops leaving the country after two decades. Biden’s announcement came as he faced criticism both at home and abroad for his decision to withdraw US troops.

“I will be addressing the nation on Afghanistan at 3:45 PM ET today,” Biden posted on Twitter. This means that it will be 00:15 in Afghanistan, and 1:15am in India, when the US president addresses his country.

Reportedly, Biden will cut short his planned vacation at Camp David, and return to the White House in Washington to deliver the address. His decision to go on a vacation at a time when Afghanistan was being overrun by the Taliban brought him additional criticism, with several Senators accusing him of “going into hiding.” Among those who questioned Biden was Republican Jim Banks, an Afghan war veteran who serves as the representative for Indiana’s 3rd Congressional district. Banks wondered on Twitter if Biden "even wants to be the president any more."

The Taliban, on Sunday, took control of Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul, which led to Ghani fleeing the country. Other senior officials, too, have left the country, including first vice president Amrullah Saleh, who is believed to be hiding in neighbouring Tajikistan. Scores of Afghans have flooded the Kabul Airport, hoping to find a way to leave their country. Videos also emerged of people clinging to an aircraft of the US Air Force as it left the runway. Later visuals showed two people falling off the aircraft while it was mid-air.