ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan's women's soccer team has left for neighbouring Pakistan, the information minister in Islamabad said on Tuesday, as questions linger over the status of female athletes under Taliban rule.

"We welcome Afghanistan women football team, they arrived at Torkham Border from Afghanistan," said Fawad Chaudhry, Pakistan's information minister, in a Tweet, adding they were received by a representative of the Pakistan Football Federation.

Chaudhry gave no details and it was not immediately clear how many players had entered the country and what their plans were.

The departure is part of a broader exodus of Afghan intellectuals and public figures, especially women, since the Taliban took over the country a month ago.

Don't boycott men's cricket, former Afghan women's chief pleads

Several former and current women football players fled the country following the Taliban takeover, while a former captain of the team urged players still in Afghanistan to burn their sports gear and delete their social media accounts to avoid reprisals.

The sport's governing body FIFA said last month it was working to evacuate those remaining in the country.