Taliban and National Resistance have been making claims and counter claims but sources in Islamabad are confident that Taliban may be taking full control of Panjshir valley within the next 24 hours bringing an end to the last pocket of resistance in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's Intelligence Chief's sudden dash to Kabul has surprised many across the world, but its obvious that Pakistan is desperately trying to find a solution for peace and stability in the region at a time when key western countries have abandoned their posts and left Afghanistan on its own.

The UN has warned 18 million people are facing a humanitarian disaster, and another 18 million could quickly join them.

The Taliban victory has plunged Afghanistan's independent media into crisis.

Blinken also said the U.S. government was maintaining contact with the Taliban.

While the US would like to focus on the Indo Pacific region to counter China, it can not leave too many loopholes behind for China to fill. China is likely to attract the Gulf states in its own security based institution, The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation given the security trends in South Asia, West Asia and the Middle East.

Fighters from the National Resistance Front (NRF), made up of anti-Taliban militia fighters and former Afghan security forces, are understood to have significant weapon stockpiles too in the valley, which lies around 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Kabul.

These included Afghanistan not serving as a base for terrorism, respecting the rights of women and the media, the establishment of an "inclusive and representative" government, and allowing access to aid.

In an interview earlier this week Borrell advocated for setting up a rapidly deployable 5,000-strong EU army, and ahead of the ministers’ discussions compared the latest developments in Afghanistan to “events that catalyze history, that create a breakthrough.” 

Cricket was barely known in Afghanistan until the early 2000s, and its explosive rise in popularity is linked with conflict -- the sport was picked up in Pakistan by Afghan refugees who then seeded it in their home country.

As of now, the conditions have drastically changed. The world is acknowledging Pakistan's significance as a contributor to stability in the region with the events unfolding in Afghanistan.

The hardline Islamists face the enormous challenge of shifting gears from insurgent group to governing power, days after the United States fully withdrew its troops and ended two decades of war.