A Taiban source said that Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban's supreme leader, will take charge of religious matters and governance within the framework of Islam. The source also said that the interim government would comprise 25 ministries, with a consultative council, or shura, of 12 Muslim scholars.

The European Union is ready to engage with the new Taliban government in Kabul but the Islamist group must respect human rights, the rule of law and freedom of the media, and should negotiate with other political forces on a transitional government, said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. The Joe Biden administration has no plans to release billions in Afghan gold, investments and foreign currency reserves parked in the United States that it froze after the Taliban's takeover.

The United Nations has resumed humanitarian flights to northern and southern Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, a UN spokesman said Thursday.