As UN human rights official reports that Taliban's violent crackdown on protests had killed four on Friday, many wonder whether Taliban rule would be any different this time.

UNDP report paints a grim picture of Afghanistan's humanitarian collapse and urges urgent release of frozen assets to create a breathing space. The report and correspondents reporting from Kabul highlight dire situation on the country as poverty levels rising exponentially.

McCallum said that after Al-Qaeda's plane hijackings of September 11, 2001, the threat had evolved with the so-called Islamic State group inspiring followers into extremism online.

Since the group entered Kabul on Aug. 15, armed members have roamed the streets in battlefield dress, often with no obvious chain of command. Many city dwellers are not used to the sight, and heavy-handed security tactics have not helped.

According to figures cited by the UN’s humanitarian branch, more than 18 million Afghans currently require some form of assistance, nearly double the 9.4 million reported in 2020, while hundreds of thousands of people also remain displaced after decades of conflict.

Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban's secretive supreme leader, has said the government would "work hard towards upholding Islamic rules and sharia law".

Analysts describe Qatar's emergence as a broker in Afghanistan as a part of a carefully nurtured strategy by the tiny but rich state to bolster its own security, by becoming indispensable as a venue for international mediation.

Pakistan is not only Afghanistan’s immediate neighbour but has very deep historic, ethnic, religious and cultural ties with the country – sometimes described as a “Gordian knot”.

Fifteen Saudis were among the 19 hijackers in the plane attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which left nearly 3,000 dead and were plotted by Saudi-born Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Wang also expressed hope that war-wracked Afghanistan can build a “broad and inclusive political structure” that is capable of moderate and stable domestic and foreign policy.

Blinken has said Washington will work with allies to exert diplomatic and economic leverage in Afghanistan even after the end of America's longest war.

The spokesperson for the bloc said that "such inclusivity and representation is expected in the composition of a future transitional government, and as result of negotiations".