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.

Image source, Reuters

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.

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.

Image source, EPA

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.

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."

You can watch more of Blair's speech in the video below:

Image source, Negar family

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

Image source, AFP

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.

Jamal Mosavi
BBC Persian

Image source, Reuters

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.

The Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan has left many people, especially in the capital Kabul, with anxiety and fears over the future.

But in more rural areas, which saw some of the fiercest fighting during the 20-year conflict, many others are relieved to see the end of a war that has killed tens of thousands of civilians.

The BBC's Secunder Kermani reports from one of these places, in the eastern province of Logar.

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.

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

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

Image source, Aamir Quireishi

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."

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.

Image source, AFP

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

The Taliban have claimed to have seized control of the Panjshir Valley - the final area of resistance to their rule.

Earlier this morning, the group posted a video showing its members raising the Taliban flag outside the provincial governor’s office in Panjshir.

However the leader of the resistance forces in Panjshir has denied the Taliban are now in control. Ahmad Massoud said they still have a presence there and are fighting the militants.

Image source, Reuters

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

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.

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, external.

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.

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”.

Sophie Williams
BBC News

Image source, EPA

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