A three-day assembly of Islamic clerics and tribal elders in Kabul has concluded with pledges of support for the Taliban and calls on the international community to recognize Afghanistan's Taliban-led government.

The Taliban's supreme leader has offered prayers for Afghanistan's earthquake victims during a speech to Islamic clerics in Kabul.

Taliban hard-liners are turning back the clock in Afghanistan with a flurry of repressive edicts over the past days that hark back to their harsh rule from the late 1990s.