KABUL, Afghanistan -- The Taliban reveled in their victory Tuesday, reiterating their pledge to restore peace and security in Afghanistan after decades of war. Their citizens are anxiously waiting to see what the new order looks like.
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Having humbled the world's most powerful military, the Taliban now face the challenge of governing a nation of 38 million people that relies heavily on international aid, and imposing some form of Islamic rule on a population that is far more educated and cosmopolitan than it was when the group last governed Afghanistan in the late 1990s.
"People's expectations have grown dramatically after the past 20 years of freedom and liberation," said Saad Mohseni, owner of Tolo, Afghanistan's largest broadcaster. "And the pain is yet to come. Will the Taliban engage the world with a more inclusive approach? Or will they return to the ways of the past?"
On Tuesday, turbaned Taliban leaders flanked by fighters from the group's elite Badri unit toured the airport and posed for photos.
"We have been fighting for this day for the last 20 years -- to end this war and attack of foreigners on us and bring our own Islamic government," Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid declared on the tarmac from which the last U.S. plane had departed only hours earlier.
"This victory belongs to us all," Mujahid said.
"Afghanistan is finally free," said Hekmatullah Wasiq, a top Taliban official. "Everything is peaceful. Everything is safe."
He urged people to return to work and reiterated the Taliban's offer of amnesty to all Afghans who fought against the group over the past 20 years. "People have to be patient," he said. "Slowly we will get everything back to normal. It will take time."
A long-running economic crisis has worsened since the Taliban's rapid takeover of the country in mid-August, with people crowding banks to maximize their daily withdrawal limit of about $200. Civil servants haven't been paid in months, and the local currency is losing value. Most of Afghanistan's foreign reserves are held abroad and are currently frozen.
"We keep coming to work, but we are not getting paid," said Abdul Maqsood, a traffic police officer on duty near the airport. He said he hasn't received his salary in four months.
A major drought threatens the food supply, and thousands who fled during the Taliban's lightning advance remain in squalid camps.
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"Afghanistan is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe," said Ramiz Alakbarov, the local U.N. humanitarian coordinator. He said $1.3 billion is needed for aid efforts, only 39% of which has been received.
The challenges the Taliban face in reviving the economy could give Western nations leverage as they push the group to fulfill a pledge to allow free travel, form an inclusive government and guarantee women's rights. The Taliban say they want to have good relations with other countries, including the United States.
There are few signs of the draconian restrictions the Taliban imposed last time they were in power. Schools have reopened to boys and girls, though Taliban officials have said they will study separately. Women are out on the streets wearing Islamic headscarves -- as they always have -- rather than the all-encompassing burqa that the Taliban required in the past.
"I am not afraid of the Taliban," said Masooda, a fifth-grader, as she headed to school Tuesday.
When the Taliban last ruled the country, from 1996 to 2001, they banned television, music and even photography, but there's no sign of that yet. TV stations are still operating normally, and the Taliban fighters themselves can be seen taking selfies around Kabul.
On Tuesday, the sound of dance music trickled out of an upscale wedding hall in Kabul, where a celebration was in full swing.
Shadab Azimi, the 26-year-old manager, said at least seven wedding parties had been held since the Taliban takeover, with festivities moved to the daytime because of security concerns. He said the Taliban have yet to announce any restrictions on music, but that wedding singers have canceled out of caution, forcing him to use tapes.
Azimi said a Taliban patrol stops by a couple of times a day, but only to ask if he needs help with security. Unlike the now-disbanded police of the toppled, Western-backed government, the Taliban don't ask for bribes, he said.
"Former officials, including police officers, were always asking us for money and forcing us to host their friends for lunches and dinners," he said. "This is one of the positive points of the Taliban."
Abdul Waseeq, 25, runs a women's clothing shop in downtown Kabul selling Western-style jeans and jackets. The Taliban have left him alone, but his clientele seems to have vanished, and he's concerned about the banking crisis.
"Most of our customers who were buying these kinds of clothes are gone, evacuated from Kabul," he said.
For now, the Taliban appear less interested in imposing restrictions on daily life than in getting the country running again, a task that could prove challenging to fighters who have spent most of their lives waging an insurgency in the countryside.
They are expected to focus on the Kabul airport.
On Tuesday, the airport was littered with artifacts of the U.S. withdrawal. Inside the terminal were scattered piles of clothes, luggage and documents. Several CH-46 helicopters used by American forces were parked in a hangar, though the U.S. military says it disabled 27 Humvees and 73 aircraft before leaving.
Taliban spokesman Mujahid later said technical teams are "repairing and cleaning" the airport and advised people to avoid the area for now.
The Taliban have said they will allow people with legal documents to travel freely, but it remains to be seen whether any commercial airlines will be willing to offer service. The Taliban are expected to hold talks with Qatar and Turkey on resuming airport operations.
"I hope you will be very cautious in dealing with the nation," Mujahid said in a speech at the airport, addressing the Taliban fighters gathered there. "Our nation has suffered war and invasion, and the people do not have more tolerance."
At the end of his remarks, the fighters shouted: "God is greatest!"
It is unclear how world leaders will regard a Taliban-run government. Mujahid appeared eager to reassure them Tuesday.
"I invite you all to come and invest in Afghanistan," he said. "Your investments will be in good hands. The country will be stable and safe."
Despite billions of dollars in Western aid over the past two decades, more than half of Afghans survive on less than a dollar a day. For the poorest, the change from one ruling system to another hardly matters in their daily struggle to survive.
Sal Mohammad, 25, collects scrap metal and sells it to support his wife and 2-year-old daughter. On a good day, he makes about $5.
"I don't feel that anything has changed in my life since the Taliban took over Kabul," he said. "I don't care about any of them, neither the Taliban, nor the government, nor the U.S. I would like peace in my country, nothing more."
Information for this article was contributed by Kathy Gannon, Tameem Akhgar, Joseph Krauss, Jon Gambrell, Rahim Faiez and Sayed Ziarmal Hashemi of The Associated Press; and by Jim Huylebroek, Najim Rahim and Eric Nagourney of The New York Times.
