Afghanistan crisis live updates: 'Taliban capture Panjshir, now in full control of Afghanistan'

In a debate on Afghanistan on Thursday, foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) discussed how to engage with the Taliban, in particular humanitarian aid and a possible tide of Afghan refugees."The purpose of the meeting is to try to reach an agreement on coordinated engagement with the Taliban on the basis of certain conditions, and on the possibilities of cooperation with regional players," the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told journalists before the start of the informal meeting in Slovenia.

The Taliban were expected to form a government as early as Friday with the new regime under intense international scrutiny over its vow to rule Afghanistan with greater tolerance, especially on women's rights.The announcement of a new administration could be made after Friday afternoon prayers, two Taliban sources told AFP, as the Islamists shift gears from insurgent group to governing power, days after the United States fully withdrew its troops and ended two decades of war.

US President Joe Biden and his wife on Thursday visited a Maryland hospital treating troops wounded in Afghanistan, four days after the US military completed its withdrawal from the country."Tonight, the President and First Lady are visiting wounded warriors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center," the White House said.

Its closure since the departure of US troops poses major strategic and humanitarian challenges.