- Former president Hamid Karzai in a statement has asked the Taliban and the “resistance front” in Panjshir to stop the fighting and resolve their issues through talks
At least 17 people have been killed in Kabul after Taliban fighters fired weapons into the air Friday night to celebrate gains on the battlefield in Panjshir province, which still remains under the control of anti-Taliban fighters.
Sources in the Taliban told news agency Reuters Saturday its fighters had taken Panjshir Valley, the final holdout in its quest to seize Afghanistan.
“By the grace of Allah Almighty, we are in control of the entire Afghanistan. The troublemakers have been defeated and Panjshir is now under our command,” one Taliban commander was quoted as saying.
Heavy fighting continues in the valley and has left hundreds dead till now.
However, resistance leaders denied the claim to Reuters. “News of Panjshir conquests is circulating on Pakistani media. This is a lie,” said Ahmad Massoud, who is leading the rebels.
Meanwhile, former president Hamid Karzai in a statement has asked the Taliban and the “resistance front” in Panjshir to stop the fighting and resolve their issues through talks, TOLO news reported.
And as if to make the celebrations in Kabul premature, fresh fighting was reported on Saturday between the Taliban and resistance forces in Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley, even as the hardline Islamists finalize a new government that will set the tone for their rule.
Facing the challenge of morphing from insurgents to rulers, the Taliban appear determined to snuff out the Panjshir resistance before announcing who will lead the country in the aftermath of Monday’s United States troop withdrawal, which was supposed to end two decades of war.
But Panjshir, which held out for nearly a decade against the Soviet Union’s occupation and also the Taliban’s first rule from 1996-2001, is stubbornly holding out.
Fighters from the so-called National Resistance Front (NRF) — made up of anti-Taliban militia and former Afghan security forces — are understood to have stockpiled a significant armory in the valley, around 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Kabul and guarded by a narrow gorge.
Celebratory gunfire rang out in the capital Kabul overnight as rumors spread that the valley had fallen, but the Taliban made no official claim on Saturday and a resident told AFP by phone that the reports were false.
The Emergency Hospital in Kabul said that two people were killed and 20 wounded by the salvos, as the Taliban tweeted a stern admonishment warning its fighters to stop.
“Avoid firing in the air and thank God instead,” said chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, tipped to become the new regime’s information minister.
“The weapons and bullets given to you are public property. No one has the right to waste them. The bullets can also harm civilians, don’t shoot in vain.”
Afghan resistance movement and anti-Taliban uprising forces take part in a military training at Malimah area of Dara district in Panjshir province, on September 2, 2021, as the valley remains the last major holdout of anti-Taliban forces. (Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP)
In Panjshir, former Vice President Amrullah Saleh, holed out alongside Ahmad Massoud — the son of legendary anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud — admitted the perilous position of the NRF.
“The situation is difficult, we have been under invasion,” Saleh said in a video message.
Usually known for his sharp Western suits, Saleh was filmed wearing a traditional shalwar kameez tunic and a flat woollen pakol cap favoured by Panjshiris.
“The resistance is continuing and will continue,” he added.
Taliban and resistance tweets suggested the key district of Paryan had changed hands several times in the last few days, but that also could not be independently verified.
In other news, Taliban sources also told Reuters the group’s co-founder and head of political office Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar would lead the new Afghan government.
The co-founder of the Taliban, Mullah Omar’s son Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai are likely to have senior positions in the government.
Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme religious leader, will deal with religious matters and governance.
