Afghanistan crisis live updates: 'Taliban capture Panjshir, now in full control of Afghanistan'

Speaking during a visit to Pakistan, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, "Britain will not recognise the Taliban as the new government in Kabul", reported Al Jazeera. Raab further stated, "new realities in Afghanistan" must be dealt with and also said that the UK does not want to see the "social and economic fabric of the country broken."

The formation of a new Afghan government by the Taliban, which was to be announced on Friday, has now been delayed by a day, according to the spokesman of the insurgents Zabiullah Mujahid. Mujahid said the announcement about the formation of the new government will now be made on Saturday. Sources said that Chairman of Taliban's Political Office, Doha, Qatar Mulla Abdul Ghani Baradar is likely to be the head of the Taliban Government.

The European Union is ready to engage with the new Taliban government in Kabul but the Islamist group must respect human rights, including those of women, and not allow Afghanistan to become a base for terrorism, the EU foreign policy chief said on Friday. "In order to support the Afghan population, we will have to engage with the new government in Afghanistan," Josep Borrell said during a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Slovenia.

Describing China as its "most important partner", the Afghan Taliban has said it looks to Beijing to rebuild Afghanistan and exploit its rich copper deposits as the war-ravaged country faces widespread hunger and fears of an economic collapse. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the group supports China's One Belt, One Road initiative that seeks to link China with Africa, Asia and Europe through an enormous network of ports, railways, roads and industrial parks. "China is our most important partner and represents a fundamental and extraordinary opportunity for us because it is ready to invest and rebuild our country," Geo News quoted Mujahid as saying in an interview to an Italian newspaper on Thursday.

A few dozen protesters have gathered outside the presidential palace in Kabul, urging the country's new Taliban leadership to uphold women's rights achieved under Western patronage and include women in the upcoming government. At one gate on Friday, around a dozen women held up small printed pages urging for “A heroic Cabinet with the presence of women.” The protestors chanted slogans asserting human rights and saying they did not want to return to the past.

The United Arab Emirates sent a plane carrying "urgent medical and food aid" to Afghanistan on Friday.

President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that there would be no political force to talk to directly if Afghanistan breaks up as a country and called for joint efforts to decide about "legalising" a political force there. Putin made the comment at a forum in Vladivostok where he was asked if Moscow would recognise the Taliban government. The Taliban is formally recognised as a terrorist group in Russia.

The Treasury Department is not easing sanctions on the Taliban or loosening restrictions on their access to the global financial system, a spokesperson told Reuters.

The Police informed the Delhi High Court on Friday that no prior permission was sought by the Afghanistan refugees and asylum seekers camping outside the UNHCR office, and using police force may have international ramifications. A single bench judge of Justice Rekha Palli was hearing a plea filed by Vasant Vihar Welfare Association, seeking the removal of the foreign nationals, who gathered outside the UNHCR India office in Vasant Vihar and set up temporary structures, and settling them at an appropriate camp.

It was never easy being gay or transgender in Afghanistan. Now it could be deadly, according to LGBT+ Afghans, whose fear of violence under the Taliban is driving a frantic bid to escape. But how any evacuation might work is another matter, with scant practical support coming from overseas and even less hope that Islamist militants will let them into the airport."If I find a visa and a country gives me permission to leave, of course I will risk everything to get out," said one gay Afghan student, whose name was withheld for his protection. "Any country, but not here. Living here means nothing for us."

The Taliban say Western Union will resume its operations in Afghanistan, opening a rare conduit for foreign funds to flow into the cash-strapped country. The group's 's cultural commission spokesman, Ahmadullah Muttaqi, announced the move Friday. The American financial services giant had halted operations in Afghanistan when the Taliban took power in the capital on Aug. 15. The opening will be especially welcomed by Afghans with foreign relatives abroad. Hundreds of people have been lining up daily outside Afghan banks to withdraw cash. Withdrawals have been limited to $200 per day and cash machines aren't working. The overcrowding means that not everyone manages to obtain money on a given day.

A bunch of helicopters was seen flying over southern Afghanistan while jubilant Taliban members below stood aboard captured US military hardware as the Islamist group paraded them with pride.The United States forces left Afghanistan on Tuesday morning, marking the end of a chaotic and messy exit from America's longest war.In the second-biggest city of Kandahar, a long line of green armoured vehicles was driven in single file on Wednesday, with the group's flags attached to it, Dawn reported cities agencies.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the official spokesman for the Taliban regime, told an Italian newspaper that China was "our main partner and represents a fundamental and extraordinary opportunity for us as the Chinese government is ready to invest and rebuild our country", the Guardian reported. Mujahid told the La Repubblica newspaper that the Taliban "care a lot about the 'One Belt, One Road' project. We own rich copper mines, which, thanks to the Chinese, will be modernised. Finally, China represents our ticket to the markets around the world".