India's past citizenship policy, which critics say excludes Muslims, has raised questions as to who is eligible for special new humanitarian visas for Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban.

Jalalabad residents tell of the changes in the city since the Taliban took control of the city and Afghanistan, coming just two weeks before an August 31 deadline for all troops to fully withdraw from the country.

Afghan restaurant owner Aziz Ahmed, who has called the UAE home for over 20 years, says the Taliban's return to power is little short of a nightmare. The Taliban, who overran Afghanistan in 10 days, previously ran a brutal form of Islamist government when they ruled between 1996 and 2001, confining women to home, forbidding entertainment and publicly beating and executing prisoners.

The militant group said it would form an inclusive government and protect citizens' rights, but many Afghans fear that the new Taliban regime will not be very different from the hard-line government in the 1990s.

Firing is heard in Jalalabad as residents protest over the removal of Afghan flags that were replaced with that of the Taliban, according to local media, after the group's takeover of Afghanistan after being ousted by a US-led invasion in 2001.

EU countries must take in Afghans under "immediate threat" after the victory of the Taliban, especially women and girls, the European commissioner for home affairs Ylva Johansson says.

Afghans scramble to the Kabul airport, which is being secured by the Americans. The airport is the only way out for now as the Taliban encircled the capital. DW has the latest.

Thousands of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers in India live in fear and uncertainty as the Taliban intensify their attacks on Afghan government forces and seize more territory in the war-torn country.

Afghans in Jalalabad city chant "Allah-u Akbar" (God is greatest) in support of the Afghan security forces, as part of calls to gather on rooftops at 9 pm following similar scenes the night before in the western city of Herat, that is under siege, after government forces countered the latest Taliban assault.

While visiting a military base in north London, UK Prime minister Boris Johnson stresses that August 31 will not mark the end of the UK’s commitment to helping those who wish to flee Afghanistan.

Thousands of Afghans are waiting outside the country's main passport office to apply for the precious travel document that would allow them to leave the war-torn nation.

Afghan media are extremely critical of Pakistan's alleged support for the Taliban, who are gaining strength amid the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan.