The United States and its allies may have left Afghanistan in the hands of the Taliban but they still have "leverage" to make the Islamist militants honour commitments to allow people out of the country, according to US President Joe Biden.

This was echoed by US officials and other Western leaders, who believe the Taliban can be pressured into abandoning their past violence and support for terrorism with carrot and stick measures given Afghanistan's outsized dependence on imported energy, food and foreign aid - and its shaky economy.

Here are some of the most important levers the West has...