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advice to the Taliban from world powers for an inclusive government, backing up its pledges of a more conciliatory approach that upholds human rights, if it sought peace and development.

Voicing concern about the Taliban government’s composition, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said he saw little reason for optimism about conditions in Afghanistan.

“The announcement of a transitional government without the participation of other groups, and yesterday’s [Tuesday] violence against demonstrators and journalists in Kabul, are not signals that give cause for optimism,” he said.

The US said it was concerned about the “affiliations and track records” of some of the people named by the Taliban to fill top posts in new government.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was looking to build a united front with nations shaken by the Afghanistan withdrawal as he consulted allies and heard stories from refugees at an air base in Germany yesterday.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain would have wanted to see a “diverse” leadership team in Afghanistan, but that is not what London has seen.

“We will continue to judge the Taliban on their actions ... We would want to see, in any situation, a diverse group in leadership which seeks to address the pledges that the Taliban themselves have set out and that’s not what we have seen,” the spokesman said yesterday.

Meanwhile, Afghan women, including the country’s women’s cricket team, will be banned from playing sport under the new Taliban government, according to an official in the hardline Islamist group.