Afghanistan - 3rd September 2021

Summary for Friday, 3rd September

• Thousands of Taliban fighters are taking on resistance forces in the last province holding out against the Islamist takeover
  
• Reports say there have been fierce clashes around the Panjshir valley
  
• The resistance includes former Vice-President Amrullah Saleh, former Afghan security force members and local militias
  
• Both sides are claiming to have gained the upper hand
  
• The EU and Britain have joined the US in saying they will deal with the Taliban, but won't see them as Afghanistan's government
  
• The EU is planning to re-establish a diplomatic presence in Kabul
  
• But it said any engagement would be subject to strict conditions and would only be to support the Afghan people
  
• It comes as the Taliban prepares to announce who will be in its government
  
• UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is visiting Pakistan amid efforts to help Britons and others leave Afghanistan
  

Welcome back to our live coverage

We are back to bring you the latest developments in Afghanistan. Here's what's been happening:

• Heavy fighting has been reported between the Taliban and resistance fighters in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley. Panjshir is the only province that has not fallen to the Islamist group and thousands of opposition fighters are believed to have massed there
  
• The Taliban will announce a government on Saturday at the earliest, a spokesman has told AFP
  
• US President Joe Biden has visited troops who were injured in a devastating bomb attack at Kabul airport as they helped to evacuate Americans and Afghans from the country. Thirteen US soldiers were among some 170 people killed
  
• The World Food Programme has confirmed it is operating humanitarian aid flights from Islamabad in Pakistan to the Afghan cities of Mazar-i-Sharif and Kandahar
  
• UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is due to visit Pakistan later as part of efforts to secure safe passage for Britons and others trying to leave the country
  

8:07 3 Sep

Humanitarian aid flights to Afghanistan resume

The UN's World Food Programme has confirmed it is operating humanitarian aid flights from Islamabad in Pakistan to the Afghan cities of Mazar-i-Sharif and Kandahar.
A UN spokesman told reporters three flights had already landed in Mazar-i-Sharif since 29 August.
Those flights will enable 160 humanitarian organisations to continue their work in Afghanistan, he said.
Even before the Taliban takeover of the country, Afghanistan was already heavily aid-dependent - with 40% of the country's GDP drawn from foreign funding, AFP reports.
The Taliban offensive has sparked a new exodus; according to the UN refugee agency, over half a million Afghans have become internally displaced this year.
The country was already struggling with a prolonged drought and the coronavirus pandemic has brought new challenges.
Most aid organisations have said they aim to remain in Afghanistan to continue their work there, despite recent political upheavals.
International Committee of the Red Cross spokesman Florian Seriex said the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan had not changed the ICRC's relationship with the group and "the current situation doesn't change the way we seek to operate".

Where is the Panjshir Valley?

Panjshir, a short drive to the north of Kabul, is the base of the National Resistance Front, a multi-ethnic group made up of militias and former Afghan security force members.
One of Afghanistan's smallest provinces, it is home to somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000 people, hidden behind mountain peaks that rise 9,800ft (3,000m) above the Panjshir River.

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 valley - which historically was known for its gems and mining - has benefited from investment in recent years. In the past two decades, hydroelectric dams and a wind farm have been built, as well as roads and a radio tower.

Kabul airport bomber 'freed from prison as government collapsed'

BBC Monitoring - The world through its media

The attack killed as many as 170 people

The Islamic State group (IS) says the attacker who blew himself up at Kabul airport on 26 August had only recently walked free from an unidentified prison when the former Afghan government collapsed.
The devastating explosion in the middle of crowds trying to get into the airport killed as many as 170 people, including 13 US troops.
On 15 August the Taliban reportedly let out thousands of inmates from Kabul's Pul-e-Charkhi prison on the day they captured the city. Media reports said IS and al-Qaeda members were among those freed. The Taliban also freed prisoners from jails in other cities.
Offering new information, IS said in an online newsletter that the bomber Abdul-Rahman al-Logari and "a number of his brothers [IS members]" walked out of prison "as the forces of the former government fled".
It added that as soon as he was free, he "rushed to join his brothers [IS Khorasan province]" and enlisted in the group's suicide bomber squad.
Read more - Who are IS-K?

Who is Mullah Baradar?

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (seen in the centre of the picture)

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is one of the four men who founded the Taliban in Afghanistan in 1994.
He became a linchpin of the insurgency after the Taliban were toppled by the US-led invasion in 2001.
But he was captured in a joint US-Pakistani operation in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi in February 2010.
He remained in prison for eight years, until he was released as part of a plan to facilitate the Afghan peace process. He has been the head of the Taliban political office in Qatar since January 2019.
In 2020, Baradar became the first Taliban leader to communicate directly with a US president after having a telephone conversation with Donald Trump. Before that, Baradar signed the Doha agreement on the withdrawal of US troops, on behalf of the Taliban.
Today, Baradar is the main political leader of the militant group and has returned to Afghanistan.
Read more here.

Flights to resume from Kabul airport

The Afghan flag carrier, Ariana Airlines, has said that domestic flights from Kabul airport will resume from Friday.
Tamim Ahmadi, a senior official with the airline, told AFP: "We have received a green light from the Taliban and aviation authorities and plan to start flights today."
Qatar has been working with the Taliban to reopen the airport in recent days, with a technical team flying into the city on Wednesday.
The airport has been closed to normal traffic since the Taliban seized Kabul on 15 August. It has been closed to all traffic since the final US evacuation flight departed on Monday.

Who are the fighters holding out against the Taliban?

Fighters loyal to the deposed Afghan government have gathered in the Panjshir Valley under the banner of the National Resistance Front (NRF) - who are they?
Their leader is Ahmad Massoud - a 32-year-old graduate of Sandhurst Royal Military Academy, and son of legendary resistance commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.
His father, known as the “Lion of Panjshir”, famously defended the region against the Soviet occupation in the 1980s and the Taliban regime in the 1990s. He was assassinated by an Al Qaeda suicide squad just two days before the 9/11 attacks, when Ahmad Massoud was a teenager.
After training in Britain as a foreign cadet at Sandhurst and doing a degree in War Studies at King’s College London, Ahmad Massoud returned to Afghanistan in 2016. He founded the anti-Taliban NRF last month.
"I would prefer to die than to surrender," Massoud said in his first interview since the Taliban took over Kabul. "I'm the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud. Surrender is not a word in my vocabulary."
He has been joined by the former Vice-President, Amrullah Saleh. Mr Saleh, a former director of the Afghan security services, has claimed to be the acting President of Afghanistan after his predecessor, Ashraf Ghani, fled the country.
He was a close adviser to Mr Massoud's father throughout the 1990s.
The pair now lead several thousand members of local militias and remnants of army and air force units, as well as a large number of Afghan special forces commandos.
But they have called for international support to help take on the Taliban in the wake of the US military withdrawal.
Read more here

Leaked UK document warns of refugee funding shortfall

The UK's Treasury must "urgently" arrange extra funding before local councils can start making offers to house Afghan refugees, a document seen by the BBC suggests.
It estimates the cost of helping those coming to the UK over the next 10 years could be more than £2.5bn and it suggests that there has been a shortfall in the cash committed by Whitehall so far.
The leaked document says just under £400m has been allocated so far to help resettle those who had fled the country, but an extra £557m could be needed over the next three years.
The UK has committed to taking in over 20,000 Afghan refugees, with an additional 5,000 due to arrive over the coming year.
Read more here.

Taliban change Kabul's displays

Our correspondent Secunder Kermani, who has been driving around the Afghan capital, Kabul, reports coming across a beauty salon whose owner has been ordered to paint over the women's faces displayed on its shop front.
There has been much speculation on how the new Taliban government is likely to treat women.


Here is another example of a mural being painted over and replaced by a Taliban message, according to a local journalist.

Pakistan says it will retrain and integrate Taliban fighters

Pakistan is concerned about the potential security threat on its doorstep posed by a Taliban-run Afghanistan. Islamabad is said to fear a rise in militant attacks along the Afghan-Pakistan border.
"The next two to three months are critical," a senior Pakistani official has told Reuters.
"We [the international community] have to assist the Taliban in reorganising their army in order for them to control their territory," the source added, referring to the threat posed by resurgent rival militant groups including Islamic State (IS).
The official, who has direct knowledge of the country's security decisions, said Pakistan planned to send security and intelligence officials, possibly even the head of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, to Kabul to help the Taliban reorganise the Afghan military.
"Whether we recognise the Taliban government or not, stability in Afghanistan is very important."
The official warned that Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), a loosely affiliated offshoot of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, was actively looking to launch attacks and recruit new fighters.
Left unhindered, it would almost certainly grow from relatively small numbers currently.
Pakistan was also one of three countries to recognise the Taliban when they were previously in power in Afghanistan. It was also the last country to break diplomatic ties with the group.

Few Afghan refugees crossing into Pakistan and Iran, UN says

People wait to cross into Pakistan at the Spin Boldak border crossing.

The UN has said that Afghan refugees have not been crossing the border into neighbouring Pakistan and Iran in large numbers since the country fell to the Taliban on 15 August.
Babar Baloch, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR), told reporters that the numbers leaving Afghanistan "remain small", but gave no exact figures.
"So far what we have not seen is a large refugee influx", Baloch said.
However, the UNHCR did not touch on the large crowds seen at the Spin Boldak border crossing in recent days, where local officials said an "unprecedented" number of people had been attempting to cross into Pakistan.
Up to 500,000 Afghans could flee their homeland by the end of this year, the UNHCR said last week.

No UK recognition for Taliban government - Raab

The UK does not recognise the Taliban as the government in Afghanistan, but will keep channels of communication open, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says.
He tells a press conference in neighbouring Pakistan this is necessary to try to help people still seeking to flee Afghanistan.
“There are particular cases outstanding which I won't go into because of the sensitivity, but we need to be able to have that dialogue,” he says.
He vows that the UK will be "shouldering our humanitarian responsibilities" amid concerns that countries neighbouring Afghanistan could see huge numbers of refugees arriving.
"We will also be supporting those countries who face greatest demands from those who may be displaced in the weeks ahead," he says.

Where are the latest reports of fighting?

As we mentioned earlier, heavy fighting has been reported between the Taliban and resistance fighters in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley.
The National Resistance Front, a multi-ethnic group made up of militias and former Afghan security force members, is loyal to the deposed Afghan government.
Panjshir is the only province that has not fallen to the Islamist group and thousands of opposition fighters are believed to have massed there.
It is a short distance to the north of Kabul and has traditionally been a centre of resistance to the Taliban.

Indian actor's message for those "celebrating" the Taliban's return

Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah has sent a message to "sections of Indian Muslims" who are apparently celebrating the "dangerous" return of the Taliban to Afghanistan.
Speaking in Urdu, the 71-year-old said that those rejoicing should ask themselves "if they want a reformed, modern Islam or live with the old barbarism of the past decades".
His comments have irked many Muslims in India.
But supporters of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) praised Mr Shah, who himself is Muslim, and said more Muslims should speak up against the Taliban.
Mr Shah is one of India's most successful actors and starred alongside the late Sean Connery in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Putin: US withdrawal has caused humanitarian disaster

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan is a "catastrophe" and has caused a humanitarian disaster, showing lessons have not been learned from previous US-led interventions.
Mr Putin said that attempts by Western nations to impose democracy by force were bound to fail. Sanctions, he said - whether against Russia or other countries - were the continuation of the same failing policy.
Meanwhile, the Russian ambassador to Kabul has told the news agency RIA that Russia is in touch with potential members of the Taliban's new government.
But he stressed that Moscow did not plan to supply the new regime with weapons.
Earlier this week President Putin called on the Taliban to “enter the family of civilised nations”.

Mullah Baradar may lead Taliban government - report

We've been hearing more about who might be in an eventual Taliban government.
Reuters news agency is quoting unnamed Taliban sources as saying that one of the group's co-founders, Mullah Baradar, will lead the new government.
Baradar, who heads the Taliban's political office, will be joined by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban co-founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, in senior positions in the government, three sources said.
In its latest update on when Afghans could expect a government to be announced, a Taliban spokesman said it would happen on Saturday at the earliest, and added that the reports on who will be in the government are "baseless".
The group may have been taken by surprise by the promptness of their victory, which would explain the hold up.
Afghan analyst Martine van Bijlert says the Taliban were "not at all prepared for the sudden departure of President Ashraf Ghani on 15 August, and for Kabul to fall into their hands so quickly".
They have never prepared a detailed plan or government policy, she is quoted as saying by AFP, adding the movement has been "divided on the way forward".

Who leads the Taliban?

So what else do we know about the Taliban and who leads them?
At the head of the group is Hibatullah Akhundzada, who became the group's supreme commander in May 2016, in charge of political, military and religious affairs.
In the 1980s, he participated in the Islamist resistance against the Soviet military campaign in Afghanistan, but his reputation is more that of a religious leader than a military commander.
Akhundzada worked as head of the Sharia Courts in the 1990s. He is believed to be in his 60s and has lived most of his life in Afghanistan.
Read more here about the Taliban's top leadership.


13:59 3 Sep

If you're just joining us...

Here's what's been happening in Afghanistan so far on Friday:

• The EU and UK have said they won't recognise the Taliban as the new government of Afghanistan
  
• The Afghan flag carrier, Ariana Airlines, has said that domestic flights from Kabul airport will resume from Friday
  
• The UK parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee has announced its intention to launch an inquiry into Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab's handling of the Afghan crisis
  
• Talking of which, Raab is in Pakistan as part of efforts to secure safe passage for Britons and others trying to leave Afghanistan
  

Women take to the streets in Kabul

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, we've been reporting on the concerns women have of their rights under the Taliban's strict Islamist rule.
There have been a number of protests - today women have been pictured protesting in front of the presidential palace in Kabul.

• Uncertain times ahead for women
  

The UN has highlighted "credible" reports of abuses by the Taliban, notably restrictions on women.
When the militant group were last in power, women had to wear the all-covering burka, and the Taliban also disapproved of girls aged 10 and over going to school.
The Taliban say they will rule "within the framework" of Sharia, or Islamic law - however they have not elaborated on what that means in practice.
Last month the militants advised women to stay at home for their own safety, because some newer Taliban members had not yet been trained on how to "deal with women."

• What is Sharia law? What does it mean for women in Afghanistan?
  

The Taliban enforced a strict version of Islamic law when they ran Afghanistan before 2001

Karzai calls for talks between Taliban and resistance forces

President Hamid Karzai in 2017

Afghanistan's former president, Hamid Karzai, has called on Taliban and resistance forces in the Panjshir Valley to lay down their arms and engage in peaceful dialogue.
Mr Karzai, who led the nation from 2001 to 2014, tweeted that "despite the efforts of the reformers, military operations and fighting have started in Panjshir."
"I do not consider the consequences to be in the interest of the country and the people.
"That is why I call on both sides that war is not only a solution, but a wounded and suffering Afghanistan."
Anti-Taliban forces in Panjshir said on Friday that they were battling to repulse "heavy" assaults from Taliban fighters, as the Islamists seek to capture the last province defying their rule.
Since the Taliban seized Kabul last month, Mr Karzai and his ally Abdullah Abdullah have met frequently with Taliban leaders in an attempt to convince the group to form an inclusive interim administration.

Murals painted over and women's faces blacked out

Colourful and vibrant murals - some by well-known Afghan street artists - are being painted over and replaced with black and white slogans by the Taliban.
Pictures of women's faces are also being graffitied or completely covered-up, especially outside beauty salons.

• Kabul make-up artist: 'Women like me are Taliban targets'
  

Secunder Kermani, BBC Pakistan and Afghanistan correspondent, is in Kabul and saw the painting cover-up.

EU must 'keep in touch' with Taliban - EU minister

Speaking after an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kranj, Slovenia, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says opening an EU mission in Kabul "is not a first step towards recognition".
"It is the first practical thing we need to do to keep in touch with the new Afghan government," he says.
Borrell says the "most pressing issue" is working out how to evacuate people from Afghanistan.
"This is not possible without talking with the Taliban," he says.
As we reported earlier, the EU and Britain have joined the US in saying they will deal with the Taliban, but the countries won't recognise them as Afghanistan's government.

The 'undefeated' Panjshir Valley

Anti-Taliban fighters in Panjshir Province, August 2021

Several thousand anti-Taliban fighters are reported to be holding out against the militants in a remote valley with a narrow entrance - little more than 30 miles (48km) or so from the capital Kabul.
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 for the first time 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 [Soviets], 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, tells the BBC.
Read more from the BBC's Paul Kerley and Lucia Blasco

Taliban using young men as mine clearers: Saleh

Afghanistan's former vice-president and self-declared acting president has claimed that Taliban fighters are using young men to clear landmines as they advance into the Panjshir Valley.
Amrullah Saleh, who claimed the presidency after his predecessor Ashraf Ghani fled the country, said that Taliban fighters had been using "military age men of Panjshir as mine clearance tools walking them on mine fields".
He made the claims, which the BBC cannot independently verify, in a series of tweets on Friday.

• Panjshir - the valley trying to hold off the Taliban
  

Mr Saleh is currently leading anti-Taliban National Resistance Front (NRF) forces alongside Ahmad Massoud, the son of the legendary resistance commander, Ahmad Shah Massoud.
The NRF said on Friday that they were battling to drive back "heavy" assaults as the Taliban sought to capture the final holdout against their rule.

Orchestra conductor recalls the day the Taliban came

During the Taliban's previous rule, women were not allowed to work and music was banned.
So when the militants advanced on Kabul, Negin Khpalwak, conductor of Zohra, Afghanistan's all female orchestra, moved fast - hiding a small set of drums in her room.
She then collected up photographs and article clippings on her musical performances, put them in a pile and burnt them.

• Afghan music school falls silent under Taliban rule
  

"I felt so awful, it felt like that whole memory of my life was turned into ashes," she told Reuters news agency from the US, following her escape.
Zohra Orchestra has performed to enormous audiences all over the world.
Now, the Taliban have taken control of its home - the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM). It was a trailblazing music school which educated girls and boys in the same room - a rarity in Afghanistan - and taught students both Afghan and Western classical music.
And according to Reuters news agency militants in some parts of the country have ordered radio stations to stop.

17:19

Heavy fighting in the Panjshir Valley

Taliban fighters have launched a heavy assault on the final holdout to their rule in the Panjshir Valley, the BBC understands.
The situation is reportedly fluid and both sides have claimed they're gaining the upper hand. Hundreds of fighters are reported to have been killed.
However former Vice-President Amrullah Saleh has denied rumours on social media that he has fled the country. He told the BBC's Yalda Hakim the claims are "baseless" and that "he remains in the Valley".

https://twitter.com/BBCYaldaHakim/status/1433821523777830922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1433821523777830922%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Flive%2Fworld-58279900

Qatar hopes for humanitarian aid corridors within 24 hours

Qatar says it hopes to see humanitarian aid corridors established at Afghanistan airports within 24 hours.
Qatar has been working with the Taliban to quickly reopen Kabul’s airport, following the exit of US troops on 31 August.
“We hope in the next 24 or 48 hours to see the opening of humanitarian corridors so humanitarian aid can enter through Kabul airport – and other functioning airports,” Mutlaq al-Qahtani told Al Jazeera.
A humanitarian corridor is when an agreement is made between nations to allow the safe transit of aid in and out of an area in crisis. The Taliban are being accused of preventing aid from getting into the Panjshir Valley, where there is currently heavy fighting against anti-Taliban forces.

Qatari envoy arrives in Kabul for talks with Taliban leaders

We have some more news coming from Qatar.
A senior official from the Gulf state's foreign ministry has arrived in Kabul for talks with Taliban leaders.
Special envoy Dr Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani arrived on Friday to hold talks on forming an inclusive Afghan government and the reopening of the Kabul airport.
Dr Al Qahtani said, “as an impartial mediator in this process, Qatar has engaged with all sides. As of now, our priority with the Taliban includes guaranteeing a peaceful transfer of power and ensuring an inclusive and effective government is formed to serve the Afghan people".
The Gulf state has emerged as a key interlocutor with the Taliban, having hosted the militant group's political office since 2013 and was the site of the historic agreement between the US and the Taliban last year.

Second Afghan child dies after eating poisonous mushrooms

Adam Easton - Warsaw Correspondent
A six-year-old Afghan boy evacuated from Kabul to Poland has died after eating poisonous wild mushrooms at the migrant centre his family were staying at near Warsaw, his doctors confirmed on Friday.
The day before, his five-year-old brother, who also ate the mushrooms, died in the same hospital.
The brothers were taken to Warsaw Children’s Memorial Health Centre in a critical condition with acute liver failure on 26 August, two days after they ate the mushrooms whilst staying in the migrant centre, which is located in a forest outside Warsaw.
The older brother had a liver transplant on Tuesday to try to save his life and although the operation was considered successful his condition deteriorated further in the last 48 hours.
His five-year-old brother had suffered irreversible brain damage and was unable to have a transplant.
A 17-year-old Afghan girl, reportedly from the same family, who also ate poisonous mushrooms, has recovered and has been discharged from the hospital.
The family were among 1,024 Afghan citizens who worked with NATO forces in Afghanistan and were evacuated by the Polish military. Some media reports said the family ate the mushrooms because they were hungry, but the migrant centre said each family received three full meals a day. Police have launched an investigation into the poisoning.
Poland has 12,000 species of fungi and more than 250 are poisonous, some of which can be deadly.
Employees of migrant centres have been instructed to warn all foreigners not to eat wild mushrooms. Collecting mushrooms in the autumn is very popular in Poland and every year some Poles are hospitalised after eating poisonous varieties.

  16:02

Gunfire heard in Kabul

The BBC's Afghanistan correspondent Secunder Kermani has shared video footage in which heavy gunfire can be heard in Kabul.
The BBC is trying to verify the reason behind the gunfire.

https://twitter.com/SecKermani/status/1433831505189609493?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1433831505189609493%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Flive%2Fworld-58279900

Security forces reject Taliban's Panjshir victory claim

Anti-Taliban fighters battling the militants in Panjshir Valley say the Taliban have not seized control of the area - despite claims from the Taliban that they have.
National Resistance Front (NRF) spokesperson Ali Nazari said the rebels had in fact pushed the Taliban onto the back foot.
"The Taliban's propaganda machine keeps publishing the same claims that Panjshir has fallen - we have seen it for the past week that it is false, and it's the opposite - that it's the National Resistance Front that has caused them to retreat," he told BBC World News.
Mr Nazari said NRF forces had encircled and besieged Taliban fighters in the north-eastern part of the Valley.
"There are well over a few hundred Taliban who are trapped. And they are running out of munitions and they are negotiating terms of surrender right now."

Resistance leader shares video to prove he is in Panjshir Valley

Amrullah Saleh, one of the leaders of the resistance, has shared a video to prove he is still in the Panjshir Valley.
He said media reports about him fleeing are "baseless".
"There is no doubt we are in a difficult situation. We are under invasion by the Taliban", he said.
"They have had casualties, no doubt we have had casualties. Yesterday I attended the funeral of my fallen brothers who lost their lives in this sacred and holy defence of Afghanistan".
He said he was sharing the video to assure people that reports suggesting he has left Afghanistan are false.
"We will not surrender, we are standing for Afghanistan," he said.
The Panjshir Valley is the only province that has not fallen to the Taliban but there has been heavy fighting reported between the groups.


19:02 3 Sep

What's happened so far today?

Here’s a roundup of the major developments over the past 24 hours:

• Heavy fighting has been reported between the Taliban and resistance fighters in the Panjshir Valley - the only province that has not fallen to the Islamist group
  
• Taliban sources say they now control the whole of Afghanistan, but their opponents in the valley say they're continuing to hold out
  
• The EU and Britain have joined the US in saying they will deal with the Taliban but won’t recognise them as Afghanistan’s government
  
• Meanwhile Russia has said that the US withdrawal has caused a humanitarian disaster
  
• On Friday, a number of women were pictured protesting for their rights in front of the presidential palace in Kabul
  
• The Afghan flag carrier, Ariana Airlines, has said that domestic flights from Kabul airport will resume from Friday
  
• The Taliban will announce a government on Saturday at the earliest, a spokesman told AFP
  

Afghans adjust to new and uncertain fate

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.
"Be careful in how you deal with your people. This nation has suffered a lot. Be gentle," urged spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in an impromptu press conference, flanked by fighters in full combat gear, the first day after the last US soldier flew home.
Some things don't need saying. As soon as the Taliban swept, with surprising speed, into Kabul last month, Afghans knew what to do during Taliban rule 2.0. Men stopped shaving to allow beards to grow; women switched bright scarves to black ones and checked the length of their dresses and cloaks.
So much else is uncertain, unnerving.
Read the full story here

Removal of murals a reminder of previous Taliban rule

The Taliban has been removing street murals in Afghanistan.
Murals including those from the Art Lords team - which told stories of journalists, doctors and a yearning for peace, are among those being painted over.
The removal of photos has brought back unhappy memories for BBC reporter Sodaba Haidare.

Aside from murals, pictures of women are also being removed from the streets.
This image taken in Kabul on Friday shows the faces of women completely removed from the side of a building.

Evacuees on US terror watchlist denied entry

Some people recently evacuated from Afghanistan by the US were on the country’s terror watchlists and not allowed to enter the country, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has said.
“We deny access to individuals whose derogatory information is not resolved and we do not feel confident in the safety and security of the American people,” NBC quoted him as saying.
Mr Mayorkas added that the US was working with international allies to “address the disposition of those individuals,” some of whom were flagged while they were in transit, mid-evacuation.
He did not say whether any evacuees deemed a security risk had landed on US soil, but explained that there was another layer of protection as many people were routed through third party countries such as Qatar, Germany and Spain where they underwent security screening.
He told reporters that at least 50,000 Afghans would be given entry to the US under a promise to help those who assisted the US military, or Afghans who risked persecution by the Taliban.

UK and Netherlands to work together on Afghanistan

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte have agreed to work together to re-establish a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan as soon as possible, Mr Johnson's office said.
The pair spoke over the phone on Friday afternoon, and "stressed that any recognition of the Taliban must be predicated on them upholding human rights and allowing safe passage out of the country" a Downing Street spokesperson said.
"They agreed to work together to re-establish an international diplomatic presence in Afghanistan as soon as the political and security environment allows."
The pair also "agreed on the need for a coordinated international effort to prevent a humanitarian emergency in the region".


20:47 3 Sep

Thanks for joining us

We're now pausing our Afghanistan live coverage. A reminder of Friday's main developments:

• Heavy fighting has been reported between the Taliban and resistance fighters in the Panjshir Valley - the only province that has not fallen to the Islamist group
  
• There's been claim and counter-claim, with Taliban sources saying they've taken control of the valley, but the resistance maintaining they are still holding out
  
• US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has announced there will be a virtual meeting of G20 ministers on Afghanistan next week
  
• The EU and Britain have joined the US in saying they will deal with the Taliban but won’t recognise them as Afghanistan’s government
  
• Meanwhile Russia has said that the US withdrawal has caused a humanitarian disaster
  
• A number of women were pictured protesting for their rights in front of the presidential palace in Kabul
  
• The Afghan flag carrier, Ariana Airlines, has said that domestic flights from Kabul airport will resume from Friday
  
• The Taliban will announce a government on Saturday at the earliest, a spokesman told AFP