Taliban supreme leader congratulates country on liberation from foreign rule

Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada on Tuesday congratulated Afghans on the country's liberation from foreign rule, in the first statement released by him since the Islamist group took over the country last month.

"In the future, all matters of governance and life in Afghanistan will be regulated by the laws of the Holy Sharia," he said in a statement, adding the new government announced earlier on Tuesday will start functioning "at the earliest".

Akhundzada said the Taliban were committed to all international laws, treaties and commitments not in conflict with Islamic law.