Afghanistan - 6th September 2021

Summary for Monday, 6th September

• The Taliban say they are in complete control of the Afghan province of Panjshir
  
• The valley "has been cleared today completely", a spokesman told a news conference in Kabul
  
• Pictures on social media show Taliban fighters in front of the gate of the provincial governor's compound
  
• But fighters resisting Taliban rule have disputed Taliban claims and say fighting continues
  
• As recently as Sunday, their leader Ahmad Massoud had said he was open to peace talks
  
• The Taliban took control of the rest of Afghanistan three weeks ago, following the collapse of the Western-backed government
  
• They are expected to announce who will be in their government soon
  

Welcome back to our live coverage

We'll be bringing you all the latest updates from Afghanistan. Here are some of the biggest developments:

• The Taliban claim they are now in complete control of Panjshir Valley - the final pocket of territory that has remained outside their rule
  
• This has, however, been disputed by resistance fighters, who say they are still present in "all strategic locations"
  
• Internet and phone lines in the area are cut off
  
• The Taliban are expected to give a press conference later
  
• UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths has met Taliban leaders and urged them to protect all civilians, especially women, girls and minorities
  
• According to the UN, 18 million Afghans, nearly half of the population, are in need of humanitarian assistance
  
• Witnesses told the BBC that Taliban militants killed a policewoman in Firozkoh, the capital of central Ghor province. The Taliban said they were investigating
  

The story of Afghanistan’s 'undefeated' valley

As we've been reporting, there have been competing claims as resistance fighters deny the Taliban's claims that its fighters have seized Panjshir. Here's what you need to know about the area.
Panjshir, a rugged mountain valley, is home to between 150,000 and 200,000 people. It was a centre of resistance when Afghanistan was under Soviet occupation in the 1980s and during the Taliban's previous period of rule, between 1996 and 2001.
The long, deep and dusty valley stretches about 75 miles (120km) - south-west to north-east - to the north of the Afghan capital Kabul. It is protected by high mountain peaks - rising 9,800ft (3,000m) above the valley floor. They are an imposing natural barrier - protection for the people living there.
There is only one narrow road in, which winds its way between large rocky outcrops and the meandering Panjshir River.
"There is a mythical aspect to the entire area. It's not just one valley. Once you get into it there are at least another 21 sub valleys connected," says Shakib Sharifi, who lived there as a child, but left Afghanistan after the Taliban took control.
At the far end of the main valley, a trail leads up to the 4,430m (14,534ft) Anjoman Pass and heads further east into the Hindu Kush mountains. The armies of Alexander the Great and Tamerlane - the last of the great nomadic conquerors of Central Asia - both passed this way.
You can read more about the valley here.

What have the two sides said about Panjshir?

As we mentioned in our opening post, the Taliban claim they have now taken control of Panjshir Valley, completing their takeover of the country.
"Panjshir province completely fell to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," the Islamist militant group's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said.
"With this victory and latest efforts our country has come out of the whirlpool of the war and our people will have a happy life in peace, liberty and freedom in the entire country.”
Pictures on social media showed Taliban fighters in front of the gate of the provincial governor's compound. The BBC has not been able to independently verify them.
However, the resistance fighters have denied that the area has been captured.
"It is not true, the Taliban haven't captured Panjshir I am rejecting Taliban claims," Ali Maisam, spokesman for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), told the BBC.
The NRF also denied the Taliban's claims in a post on Twitter.
"The struggle against the Taliban & their partners will continue until justice & freedom prevails," they said.
You can read more on this here

Panjshir negotiation not possible, Taliban say

The Taliban spokesman says the resistance gave “negative answers” when the Taliban tried to negotiate.
Zabuhullah Mujahid said the Taliban sent military forces in to get rid of the final pocket of “terrorism”.

Who's been leading the resistance in the valley?

Ahmad Massoud (C) is the son of a late anti-Soviet leader

The valley in eastern Afghanistan has become the home of the National Resistance Front (NRF), a multi-ethnic group made up of militias and former Afghan security force members, reportedly numbering in the thousands.
The NRF has been joined by former vice-president Amrullah Saleh, but its leader is Ahmad Massoud, whose father was known as the "Lion of Panjshir", and for good reason.
Ahmad Shah Massoud not only held off the Soviet invasion in the 1980s, but went on to keep the Taliban out in the 1990s, only to be killed by assassins two days before 9/11.
His son - a 32-year-old King's College London and Sandhurst Military Academy graduate - is now determined to do the same and keep the Taliban out. And he is not just looking for support at home - earlier this year he met France's President Emmanuel Macron, seemingly in a bid for international allies as the US withdrawal drew nearer.

Electricity and internet in Panjshir will resume ‘from today’

The Taliban spokesman says electricity and internet in Panjshir will resume from today.
The Islamist group had closed phone, internet and electricity lines in the area.
The Taliban is also claiming there were no civilian casualties in the takeover of Panjshir.

Taliban wants humanitarian assistance

The Taliban spokesman is asking the international community to help them rebuild Afghanistan.
He called on countries to continue humanitarian assistance.
He also tried to assure Afghans that the situation in the country would get back to normal slowly, and the economy would improve.

Taliban spokesman: International flights to resume

The Taliban spokesman has said that domestic flights have restarted, and adds that the group is waiting to see when international flights can resume.
The governments of Turkey and Qatar have been helping to restore services from Kabul airport, he says, and claims that the US damaged the airport before leaving Afghanistan.

Panjshir leaders ‘missing’

The Taliban says the people who were in control of Panjshir are “missing at the moment”.
The spokesman said that Afghanistan is their home, and that they can return if they want.
He added that weapons seized from Panjshir would be added to Afghanistan's weapons cache.

Taliban spokesman: Former VP fled the country

Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says he has been told that former Afghan Vice-President Amrullah Saleh has left Afghanistan and escaped to neighbouring Tajikistan.
Saleh joined resistance forces in Panjshir following the Taliban takeover of the rest of the country. Last week he released a video denying that he had fled the valley.

8:21

No details on new government

The Taliban spokesman has just been asked about the new government and what it will look like.
He repeated promises that it will be an “inclusive” government, but said he could not give more details yet.
The new government is expected to be announced any day now, but Zabihullah Mujahid has not given an exact time for this.
Since their takeover, there have been questions about what exactly the Taliban's new government will mean for women, human rights, and political freedoms.

Taliban spokesman addresses issues at border crossings

The Taliban spokesman notes that there have been particular issues for Afghans trying to enter Pakistan via the Chaman and Torkham border crossings.
He says the Taliban have consistently ordered their fighters not to block access to the crossings.
But he adds that a recent delegation to Kabul said the crossings had been closed due to security concerns linked to release of prisoners inside Afghanistan, and requested checks for those seeking to enter or leave the country.

Resistance leader 'safe'

During the Taliban news conference where the militant's spokesman claimed the group had taken control of Panjshir, Ali Nazary, head of foreign relations for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) took to Twitter to say its leader Ahmad Massoud is safe.
So far, the resistance has rejected all claims that the valley has fallen to Taliban forces.

Taliban supreme leader 'will come into public view soon'

The Taliban's spokesman has said the group's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, is alive and "will come into public view soon".
Questions had been raised about where he is and why he hasn’t made any public appearances so far.
Akhundzada became the supreme commander of the Taliban in May 2016.
He is believed to be in his 60s and has lived most of his life in Afghanistan.
However, according to experts, he maintains close ties with the so-called "Quetta Shura" - the Afghan Taliban leaders said to be based in the Pakistani city of Quetta.
As the group's supreme commander, Akhundzada is in charge of political, military and religious affairs.
You can read more about him and the other Taliban leaders here

What did the Taliban spokesman say?

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has now finished speaking in Kabul. Here are the key points on what he said:

• The Taliban have taken control of the Panjshir Valley - although the resistance forces in the valley deny this
  
• The Taliban tried to negotiate but used force when talks failed
  
• It is unclear where the leaders of the resistance in Panjshir are now, adding there are unconfirmed reports that former Vice-President Amrullah Saleh has left the country
  
• The group's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, is alive and "will come into public view soon"
  
• On the long-awaited announcement of a new Afghan government, he said all important decisions have already been made and the final line-up will be announced soon
  
• He said Pakistan has closed border crossings over security concerns posed by escaped prisoners in Afghanistan
  
• Domestic flights have restarted, and the group is waiting to see when international flights can resume, but Kabul airport is very damaged
  

Boris Johnson to face MPs over handling of crisis

Stepping away from the Taliban news conference for now.
In a few hours, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to defend his handling of the Afghanistan crisis in parliament.
He will pledge to "use every economic, political and diplomatic lever to protect our country from harm and help the Afghan people".
He will also commend the "courage and ingenuity" of those involved in the UK's evacuation of around 15,000 people from the Afghan capital, Kabul.
The prime minister is expected to provide an update on the government's new resettlement programme for Afghans, which will allow a total of 20,000 people to settle in the UK over the coming years.
Both Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab have faced criticism over the UK's response to the Taliban takeover.
Read the full story

UK minister says veteran suicide claim 'inaccurate'

A government defence minister has apologised after mistakenly saying a British Afghan veteran took their own life after seeing events unfold in Afghanistan.
James Heappey told Sky News he felt "sick to the bottom of my stomach" after learning a soldier who served in Afghanistan had taken their own life "because of their feelings as a consequence of withdrawal".
But he later told the BBC the report may be inaccurate.
He added that this "shouldn't take away [from the fact] that far too many service people have taken their own lives in the last 10 years as a consequence of their service in Afghanistan".
The Ministry of Defence also said it was looking into the report of the death, but it is understood that it is untrue.
Get the full story here

Iran strongly condemns Taliban's Panjshir offensive

Iran has "strongly condemned" the Taliban's military offensive against resistance fighters in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters the news from Panjshir was "truly worrying".
“There is only a political solution to Panjshir and the siege of Panjshir is by no means acceptable in terms of international law and humanitarian law,” he told reporters.
Iran, which shares a border with Afghanistan, did not recognise the Taliban during the group's time in power between 1996 and 2001.
However, since the militants seized control again last month, it had refrained from criticising the group, according to AFP news agency.
As we have been reporting, the Taliban say they are now in complete control of Panjshir, but forces resisting their rule have denied this.

Stranded planes wait to leave Mazar-i-Sharif airport

Sophie Williams - BBC News


A US lawmaker has accused the Taliban of stopping Afghans and Americans from leaving Afghanistan via Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport, in the north of the country.
Republican House member Michael McCaul said on Sunday that planes had been trying to leave the airport "for the last couple of days".
An NGO confirmed to the BBC that it had people waiting to board one of the flights.
More than 1,000 people are being prevented from flying out, according to Reuters news agency.
The Taliban has denied the claims, labelling them as propaganda. Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the BBC: "This is not true. Our Mujahideen have nothing to do with ordinary Afghans. This is propaganda and we reject it."
Mr McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Fox News there were six planes carrying American citizens and Afghan interpreters waiting at the airport.
"[The State Department] has cleared these flights and the Taliban will not let them leave the airport," he said.
The Texas representative added: "We know the reason why is because the Taliban want something in exchange."
You can read more here

What we learned from the Taliban news conference

Secunder Kermani - BBC News, Kabul
This morning’s press conference was called by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid to announce the capture of Panjshir, the final province to be taken over by the group.
Fighters calling themselves “the resistance” claim to still have a presence in Panjshir, but the Taliban have uploaded videos showing fighters raising their flag in the centre of the provincial capital. Zabihullah Mujahid told reporters this marked the “end of the war” in Afghanistan.
It’s not clear what has happened to the leaders of the “National Resistance Front”, notably Ahmad Massoud and former Vice President Amrullah Saleh. The Taliban spokesman said there were reports Saleh had fled to Tajikistan, but Zabiullah Mujahid was not able to offer details or substantiate the claim.
The Taliban appeared to try and strike a conciliatory tone – describing residents of Panjshir, a bastion of anti-Taliban sentiment, as “brothers.” How the Taliban govern the area will be a major test for the group.
At the press conference – which was guarded by heavily armed Taliban members in camouflage – Mujahid also responded to a question on the whereabouts of the Taliban’s elusive Supreme Leader, Mullah Haibatullah.
Haibatullah has yet to make a public appearance, and some have questioned whether he is even alive. Mujahid claimed he would be appearing “soon”.

Questions continue over deadly drone strike

Initial military analysis has raised questions about a US drone strike that reportedly killed civilians near Kabul on 29 August, the New York Times reports.
The strike, near Kabul airport, killed 10 members of one family, including six children, relatives have told the BBC.
The US military said it was targeting a vehicle carrying at least one person associated with the Afghan branch of the Islamic State group, and that the strike averted an imminent attack on the airport - just days after more than 170 people were killed in an IS suicide bombing.
American commanders said at the time there were "significant secondary explosions" after the drone strike - implying there were explosives at the scene - which may have harmed people nearby.
The Pentagon later admitted that it could not dispute claims of civilian deaths in the strike.
But according to the New York Times, preliminary analysis shows it was only “possible to probable” that there were explosives inside the vehicle, and that drone operators only briefly scanned the courtyard for civilians before launching the strike.

What do we know about the Taliban's new government?

As we reported earlier, the Taliban are expected to announce their new government any day now.
We still don't have many details, but spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the media on Monday morning that all the important decisions have already been made and that they are now working on the "technical issues".
He also said an interim government would be announced first, allowing for changes later.
Mujahid added that the government would be "inclusive" and that women's rights would be respected under the framework of Sharia, or Islamic law - though he did not elaborate on what this means in practice.
There are fears over women's freedom to work, to dress as they choose, or even to leave home alone under Taliban rule.
A Taliban official told Al Jazeera that Turkey, China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar would be invited to participate in the government announcement day.

Resistance leader calls for national uprising

We have now heard from the leader of the resistance forces in the Panjshir Valley, Ahmad Massoud.
In an audio recording shared on social media, Massoud called for a national uprising against the Taliban.
He said the militants attacked his forces, ignoring requests from religious clerics, and also that some of his own family members were killed on Sunday.
In the recording, Massoud said he blamed the international community for legitimising the Taliban and giving them military and political confidence.
Resistance forces were still present in Panjshir and would continue to fight the Taliban, he said. This contradicts the militant's claim to have seized control of the Panjshir Valley.
Massoud is a 32-year-old King's College London and Sandhurst Military Academy graduate.
His father was known as the "Lion of Panjshir". He held off the Soviet invasion in the 1980s, but went on to keep the Taliban out in the 1990s, only to be killed by assassins two days before 9/11.
Read more on Panjshir here

Why is Panjshir so significant?

The Taliban has claimed to have seized control of the valley from the resistance fighters, pictured here in August

Panjshir is a remote valley with a narrow entrance, which lies a little more than 30 miles (48km) or so from the capital Kabul. The Taliban now claim to be in control - although the resistance fighters dispute this.
So why is the area so important?
It's not the first time the dramatic and imposing Panjshir Valley has been a flashpoint in Afghanistan's recent turbulent history, having been a stronghold against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and the Taliban in the 90s.
The group holding out there now - the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) - recently reminded the world of the valley's strength.
"The Red Army, with its might, was unable to defeat us... And the Taliban also 25 years ago... they tried to take over the valley and they failed, they faced a crushing defeat," Ali Nazary, the NRF's head of foreign relations, told the BBC.
In peaceful years, people flocked to the valley, drawn by the stunning views and the safety it offered.
It is home to a range of people, with the largest group being ethnic Tajiks. The valley's residents have developed a reputation for bravery thanks to fighting off outsiders.

• The 'undefeated' Panjshir Valley - an hour from Kabul
  

Life in Afghanistan: 'The future for my daughter is unclear'

Rajini Vaidyanathan - BBC South Asia Correspondent
Herat, a Silk Road city close to the border with Iran, was seen as one of Afghanistan's most liberal. The day after US troops left, hundreds of Taliban supporters filled the streets. Others stayed home in fear.

Gul* had just come back from the market when he spoke to the BBC. "All over the bazaar, the Taliban are standing with their guns," he said. "You don't see many rich people or women and girls on the street now because they're all afraid of the Taliban."
Gul's wife Afsoon now can't leave the house without taking a male escort and she has to wear a burka covering her face. "The future for my daughter is unclear," she said.
And Gul's sister, a doctor, was told to stay away from her clinic for a few weeks, he said, even after Taliban leaders told women in the medical profession they could return to work.
Days later she was able to return alongside other women, Gul said. But many other women were still at home, he said, unsure if they can resume the careers they had worked for. Gul and his family are still hoping to leave Afghanistan.
"We will go anywhere," he said. "America, Germany, France. Anywhere."
Read more stories from Afghanistan here
*Some names have been changed to protect contributors' safety.

We will be going back into Afghanistan, says US senator

US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has told the BBC that he believes American troops "will be going back into Afghanistan" in the future.
Speaking on HARDtalk, he said: "We'll have to because the [terror] threat will be so large."

Why are you travelling without a male escort?

Lyse Doucet - Chief International Correspondent
"Why are you travelling without a mahram?" the Taliban guard asks a young Afghan woman about her missing male escort.
She sits on her own in the back of a beat-up Kabul yellow taxi as it pulls up to the checkpoint marked, like all the others, by the white Taliban flag with black script.
What is allowed now in Kabul, and what is not?
The turbaned Talib, rifle slung over shoulder, tells her to call her husband. When she explains she doesn't have a phone, he instructs another taxi driver to take her home to get her husband and bring them back. Once completed, all is resolved.
Kabul is still a city of a grinding traffic gridlock, wooden market carts groaning with Afghan green grapes and deep purple plums, and street kids in tattered tunics threading through the melee.
On the surface, the city seems much the same. It's not.
It's a capital governed by Taliban statements, and some Taliban on the streets.
Read more from our correspondent here

13:41

If you're just joining us...

Here are the biggest developments in Afghanistan so far on Monday:

• It's now over three weeks since the Taliban took control of most of the country
  
• The group now say they have also seized the Panjshir valley - the final area of armed resistance
  
• A video shared online shows militants raising the Taliban flag outside the provincial governor’s office in Panjshir
  
• But in an audio message, resistance leader Ahmad Massoud said his fighters were still present in the valley and called for Afghans to rise up against the Taliban
  
• Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the important decisions in the formation of a new government have been made and that the line-up would be announced soon
  
• He also said that internal flights had resumed and work was under way to restore international air travel
  
• Women are protesting for their rights and freedom in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif
  

Women protest in northern Afghanistan

A group of women have taken to the streets in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif to call on the Taliban to protect the rights of women.
One woman told the BBC that the protest was peaceful, but that those who took part were threatened by Taliban fighters.
"They swore at us and insulted us, and said that we should disperse quickly or else they would beat us to death," she said, adding that the militants had also threatened anyone who tried to film them.
"Taliban forces threatened journalists and beat some of them," another witness told BBC Persian, adding that the fighters had checked photos taken by reporters at the protest.
On Sunday, Taliban officials broke up a similar demonstration by dozens of women in the capital Kabul. Women taking part said they were targeted with tear gas and pepper spray as they tried to walk from a bridge to the presidential palace - although the Taliban maintain the protest got out of control, according to Afghan media outlet Tolo News.
Other protests have been seen in the city of Herat.
Although the Taliban have promised to respect the rights of women, many fear a return to the way they were treated when the Taliban were previously in power, between 1996 and 2001. Women were forced to cover their faces outside, and suffered harsh punishments for minor transgressions.

Iran's Afghanistan dilemma

Jamal Mosavi - BBC Persian
Dealing with the Taliban has been a dilemma for Iran. Iran has expressed interest in collaborating with the Taliban as an anti-American force. According to numerous reports, the Taliban received military and financial support from the Iranians. The Taliban representatives were welcomed by the Iranians numerous times before they took control of the Afghan capital Kabul. Some hardliners in Iran have expressed their delight with the Taliban's advance in Afghanistan.
At the same time, as a Sunni movement, the Taliban’s doctrine differs significantly from that of Iran's Shia religious establishment.
When the Taliban took control of Balkh province in northern Afghanistan in 1998, they were suspected of killing eight Iranian diplomats. At the time, the Taliban was responsible for multiple mass killings of Shia Muslims, and Iran was on the verge of war with the Taliban administration. Therefore the Iranians have had a number of anti-Taliban allies in Afghanistan, including some political figures who are advocates of Panjshir's opposition to the Taliban.
The Taliban's operation in Panjshir Valley was the first time that group was publicly criticized by Iran in recent years.
This is yet another indicator that Iran hasn't reached a consensus on how to deal with the Taliban: whether to be pragmatic with the Taliban as the dominating force in Afghanistan, or be critical of a fundamental force that may pose a danger to a Shia administration that has been involved in Afghanistan for a long time.
It also demonstrates that the Taiban will encounter challenges from their neighbouring countries and will be perceived differently as they work to build a government.

'They took its heart away' - Changes at Kabul's airport

The sign at Kabul airport before the Taliban takeover

It has been almost a week since the final US evacuation flight took off from Kabul.
And just as the city and the wider country have changed, so has Kabul airport.
The heart at the centre of the airport's iconic "I Love Kabul" sign has been removed, our correspondent Lyse Doucet has found.
Meanwhile, references to two former presidents - including Hamid Karzai, after whom the airport was named - have been replaced with posters bearing the Taliban flag and signed by the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan".
The airport is still not operational following the US withdrawal over a week ago, although the Taliban's spokesman said on Monday that work was under way to restore international flights.

Taliban accused of killing pregnant police officer

Witnesses have told the BBC that Taliban militants killed a pregnant policewoman in Afghanistan's central Ghor province over the weekend.
Details of the incident are still sketchy as many fear retribution if they speak out. But three sources have told the BBC that the Taliban beat and shot the woman - named in local media as Banu Negar - in front of her husband and children on Saturday.
Relatives supplied graphic images showing blood spattered on a wall in the corner of a room and a body, the face heavily disfigured.
The family say Negar, who worked at the local prison, was eight months pregnant.
The Taliban told the BBC they had no involvement in her death and are investigating it.
"We are aware of the incident and I am confirming that the Taliban have not killed her, our investigation is ongoing," spokesman Zabiullah Mujaheed said.
He added that the Taliban had already announced an amnesty for people who worked for the previous administration, and put Negar's murder down to "personal enmity or something else".
Click here to read the full story

Blair warns of 'radical Islamist' threat

Tony Blair has warned that "radical Islam" continues to represent "a first order security threat".
The former UK prime minister said the challenge now would be to work out a way to deal with the threat.
In a speech to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, he said he now accepted that the West should not "attempt what we tried in Afghanistan" in another country, and that "for sure, we could have 'remade' better" in Afghanistan.
"Maybe my generation of leaders were naïve in thinking countries could be 'remade'. Or maybe the 'remaking' needed to last longer," he added.
But he said: "We should never forget as we see the women of Afghanistan in the media, culture and civic society now flee in fear of their lives, that our values are still those which free people choose."

Life in Afghanistan: 'Scared to go outside'

Rajini Vaidyanathan - BBC South Asia correspondent
Mazar-i-Sharif is a large city and major economic hub in the north of Afghanistan, close to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Once a government stronghold, it fell to the Taliban on 14 August.

Majib* used to work in a restaurant. Now he's struggling to find food. In a video call from Mazar-i-Sharif, he pointed to the dirty floor of an abandoned building where a few blankets were piled - for now it is his new home.
Majib arrived in the city just a few weeks ago, one of more than half a million Afghans displaced this year by the conflict between the Taliban and recently-ousted government forces.
His father was killed by the Taliban more than 10 years ago, he said. A decade on and he's "scared to go outside" because "they're beating people up every day".
Footage from Mazar-i-Sharif last week showed dozens of Afghans carrying suitcases and clutching plastic bags as they boarded buses to the capital, Kabul, in the hope of trying to leave.
But in the past few days, since US forces departed, more people have been arriving from in Mazar-i-Sharif from Kabul, Majib said - trying to make their way to the border with Uzbekistan as a way out.
Majib is also desperate to escape, but doesn't know if he will make it. "The Taliban are here and they don't want people to leave the country," he said.
*Some names have been changed to protect contributors' safety.

Boris Johnson faces Afghanistan questions

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has arrived in parliament to face questions from MPs over the situation in Afghanistan.
Both he and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab have faced criticism over the UK's response to the Taliban takeover.
Johnson is expected to reiterate his vow to use "every economic, political and diplomatic lever" to help Afghans.
We'll be bringing you updates here.

UK PM gives Afghanistan statement

Boris Johnson is now giving a statement about Afghanistan.
He has praised the evacuation effort from Kabul, which continued despite a deadly suicide attack outside the airport that killed at least 170 people.
He said the UK government is offering £3m ($4m) in mental health support for army veterans, and £5m to military charities
He also repeated the UK's pledge to support Afghans arriving in the UK.
On the Taliban, he said he would insist on safe passage for people who want to leave the country and on upholding human rights.
"We will judge the Taliban by their actions, not their words," he said.
He has also defended the West's record in Afghanistan, saying that the UK helped ensure Afghan girls were able to attend school and prevented terrorist attacks from Afghanistan for 20 years.

UK opposition condemns Johnson's 'lack of leadership'

The leader of the UK opposition, Keir Starmer, has now begun speaking.
He has criticised the government's "lack of leadership", saying that in the 18 months between the Doha agreement for the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul, only 2,000 of the 8,000 eligible Afghans were brought to the UK.
Safe passage for those who remain has not been guaranteed, he said, adding that Johnson only convened a meeting of the G7 after Kabul fell.
The prime minister responded by praising the UK armed forces, saying that the military had managed to extract almost double the number of people it had planned to.

Back of the resistance broken, says Times correspondent

We'll step away from the UK parliament for now too look at some more analysis on the situation in the Panjshir Valley.
The Times' war correspondent Anthony Loyd has told the BBC that the final holdout against Taliban rule in the valley has effectively fallen.
Mr Loyd, who has been following Taliban fighters as they advanced into the Valley, told the BBC's World at One programme that while the militants didn't have 100% control, with some resistance fighters remaining in more mountainous regions, it appears that "the back of the resistance against them is broken".
He added that despite calls for a "national uprising" from the resistance leader Ahmad Massoud, he did not expect further challenges against Taliban rule to emerge.
“I don’t think there’s going to be a civil war and I don’t think there’s going to be a national uprising against the Taliban. I think we’re dealing with a shocked and exhausted country who might not necessarily like Taliban's rise to power but who are not going to pick up arms at this stage."
With the defeat of the final resistance to their rule, Mr Loyd said that he expected the Taliban to announce the formation of their government in the coming days.

Johnson: More than 300 relocation candidates remain in Afghanistan

Taking you back to Westminster for a moment, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been asked how many Afghan nationals remain in the country who qualify for evacuation to the UK.
Mr Johnson said 311 candidates remained in Afghanistan, of which "192 responded to the calls that were put out".
He pledged to do "absolutely everything we can to ensure that those people get the safe passage that they deserve".
The Scottish National Party's Ian Blackford had asked the question - Mr Blackford also criticised the performance of the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, telling Mr Johnson that "he should have been sacked weeks ago".
Mr Raab has been widely criticised for choosing to remain on holiday while the Afghan government collapsed.

Four US citizens evacuated from Afghanistan - official

A US official has revealed that four US citizens have left Afghanistan - the first evacuations since the country ended its military presence in the country last month.
A senior official travelling with Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Qatar on Monday told reporters during the flight that the four left the country by land and were greeted by US diplomats.
The Taliban knew about the evacuation, the official said, without saying which country the group crossed into.
US forces helped evacuate thousands through Kabul international airport last month. The final flight left the city on 31 August.

Life in Afghanistan: 'People don't have any hope for their future'

Rajini Vaidyanathan - BBC South Asia correspondent
One of Afghanistan's poorest provinces, Badakhshan, in the northeast of the country, borders Tajikistan. The Taliban took control of its provincial capital on 11 August.

Abdul* is a doctor in Badakhshan. He was a student the last time the Taliban ran the country.
"The situation at that time was very bad and their behaviour is the same as they were in the past," he said. "I don't see any changes."
Abdul sent the BBC several pictures from a hospital in the area which is now guarded by the Taliban. In one, an 18-month-old boy lies emaciated on a bed, as his mother begs for staff to save him. According to Abdul, she could not afford to feed him.
"Day by day, more children are becoming malnourished," he said.
According to the UN, more than half of the children under five in Afghanistan are expected to be acutely malnourished in the next year. Poverty was already a reality for many in this province, but food and fuel prices have risen since the Taliban took charge and government employees have lost their jobs. Some are still waiting to be paid for the last few months.
Abdul also fears for women's rights in the province. While female medical staff have been allowed to work, he said many other women weren't being allowed to continue with their jobs and were left wondering what lies ahead.
Girls above Class 6 - above UK secondary school age - were no longer being allowed to go to school, Abdul said.
"People don't have any hope for their future," he said. "There is no opportunity for people in Badakhshan."
Read more stories from Afghanistan here
* Some names have been changed to protect contributors' safety.

Police investigate three accused of smuggling Afghans into Germany

Police in southern Germany have launched investigations into three people who are suspected of smuggling Afghan nationals into the country.
Police said the 14 Afghans - who had arrived in Italy on military evacuation flights from Kabul just weeks earlier - were caught after illegally entering Germany. All had applied for asylum in Italy but did not want to remain there.
In the first case, an Irish national was found to be driving an Afghan family into the country. He was later released by police, but the two Afghan parents were reported for illegally entering Germany and taken with their two children to a refugee reception centre.
In a separate incident, police stopped a coach carrying 10 Afghans who had also recently arrived in Italy. They were accompanied by an Afghan holding a German refugee passport and an Afghan-born German national - both of whom were reported on suspicion of people smuggling. The 10 Afghans were also reported for illegally entering the country.

The Taliban and social media: 'We too want to change perceptions'

In early May, as US and Nato forces began their final withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban stepped up their military offensive against Afghan national security forces.
But they also did something less common in the group's history of conflict in Afghanistan - they launched a comprehensive social media campaign to go with it.
A network of social media accounts highlighted the alleged failures of the Kabul government while lauding the Taliban's achievements.
The coordination suggested the Taliban had moved on from their staunch opposition to modern information technology and media once associated with them, and built a social media apparatus to amplify their message.
In 2005, the official website of Islamic Emirates of Taliban, 'Al-Emarah', was launched and now publishes content in five languages - English, Arabic, Pashto, Dari, and Urdu.
The group also publishes freely on Twitter and YouTube.
Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid's first Twitter account was suspended by the company, but his new account - active since 2017 - has more than 371,000 followers.
Read more about the Taliban's approach to social media here.

How many Afghans were brought to the UK before the fall of Kabul?

Reality Check
Responding to the PM’s statement on Afghanistan, opposition leader Keir Starmer said: “Only 2,000 of the 8,000 eligible for the ARAP scheme had been brought to Britain [before the fall of Kabul].”
The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) offers priority relocation to people in Afghanistan who had been employed by the UK and whose lives were under serious threat.
The programme was launched on 1 April.
By the time Kabul had fallen to the Taliban on 15 August only around 2,000 people had been relocated to the UK via the scheme.
Up until the end of the month, the Ministry of Defence said a further 8,000 had been evacuated from the country.
So around 10,000 ARAP claimants in total have been relocated.
BBC Reality Check has taken a closer look at how many people have been moved to the UK from Afghanistan.


17:30

Thanks for joining us

We're now pausing our live coverage of Afghanistan. Here's a reminder of Monday's main developments

• The Taliban claim to have seized control of the Panjshir Valley - the final area of resistance to their rule
  
• Earlier on Monday, the group posted a video showing its members raising the Taliban flag outside the provincial governor’s office there
  
• But in an audio message, resistance leader Ahmad Massoud said his fighters were still present in the valley and called for Afghans to rise up against the Taliban
  
• Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the important decisions in the formation of a new government have been made and that the line-up would be announced soon
  
• In the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif women have taken to the streets calling for the Taliban to protect the rights of women
  
• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told MPs that more than 300 people eligible for relocation to the UK remain in Afghanistan
  
• A US official has revealed that four US citizens have left Afghanistan - the first evacuations since the country ended its military presence in the country last month
  
• And witnesses have told the BBC that Taliban militants killed a pregnant policewoman in Afghanistan's central Ghor province over the weekend