Afghanistan: Taliban claims capture of Panjshir, last holdout province
- Resistance forces have been holed up in Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley against the Taliban
- The National Resistance Front is led by the son of a legendary anti-Taliban commander
The Taliban on Monday claimed total control over Afghanistan, saying they had won the key battle for the Panjshir Valley, the last remaining holdout of resistance against their rule.
Thousands of Taliban fighters overrun eight districts of Panjshir overnight, according to witnesses from the area. They spoke on condition of anonymity fearing for their safety.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid issued a statement on Monday, saying Panjshir was under the control of Taliban fighters.
“With this victory, our country is completely taken out of the quagmire of war,” he said.
The so-called National Resistance Front (NRF) – the anti-Taliban resistance force in Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley – vowed to carry on fighting.
The NRF said it was present in “strategic positions” across the valley, adding “the struggle against the Taliban and their partners will continue”.
The Panjshir Valley is famed for being the site of resistance to Soviet forces in the 1980s and the Taliban in the late 1990s.
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Afghanistan’s last anti-Taliban militia surrounded but holding out in Panjsher Valley
The NRF had earlier acknowledged suffering major battlefield losses in Panjshir and called for a ceasefire.
“The NRF is committed to resolving disputes with the Taliban peacefully under religious and moral principles,” a statement from the NRF said. “We aim to reach a political settlement where all social groups are represented and committed in its establishment and promotion.”
The NRF said in a tweet that spokesman Fahim Dashty – a well-known Afghan journalist – and General Abdul Wudod Zara had been killed in the latest fighting.
The anti-Taliban forces had been led by the former vice-president, Amrullah Saleh, and also the son of the iconic anti-Taliban fighter Ahmad Shah Massoud who was killed just days before the September 11 attacks in the United States.
The young British-schooled Massoud said his forces were ready to lay down their weapons but only if the Taliban agreed to end their assault. Late on Sunday dozens of vehicles loaded with Taliban were seen swarming into Panjshir Valley.
There has been no statement from Saleh, Afghanistan’s former vice-president who had declared himself the acting president after Ashraf Ghani fled the country on August 15 as the Taliban reached the gates of the capital. The Taliban subsequently entered the presidency building that day.
In his statement, Mujahid sought to assure residents of Panjshir that they would be safe – even as scores of families reportedly fled into the mountains ahead of the Taliban’s arrival.
“We give full confidence to the honourable people of Panjshir that they will not be subjected to any discrimination, that all are our brothers, and that we will serve a country and a common goal,” Mujahid said in his statement.
Afghanistan fell to the Taliban militants three weeks ago. Since then, the country has been in a state of crisis and uncertainty.
Afghanistan’s new rulers have pledged to be more “inclusive” than during their first stint in power, which also came after years of conflict – first the Soviet invasion of 1979, and then a bloody civil war.
They have promised a government that represents Afghanistan’s complex ethnic make-up – though women are unlikely to be included at the top levels.
As the Taliban come to grips with their transition from insurgency to government they are facing a host of challenges, including humanitarian needs for which international assistance is critical.
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths has arrived in Kabul for several days of meetings with the Taliban leadership, which has promised to help.
“The authorities pledged that the safety and security of humanitarian staff, and humanitarian access to people in need, will be guaranteed and that humanitarian workers – both men and women – will be guaranteed freedom of movement,” a statement from UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
The international community is coming to terms with the new Taliban regime with a flurry of diplomacy.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due Monday in Qatar, which has been a key player in the Afghanistan saga.
Qatar, which hosts a major US military base, has been the gateway for 55,000 people airlifted out of Afghanistan, nearly half the total evacuated by US-led forces after the Taliban takeover on August 15.
Blinken will also speak to the Qataris about efforts alongside Turkey to reopen Kabul’s airport, which is necessary for flying in badly needed humanitarian aid and evacuating remaining Afghans.
Blinken will then head Wednesday to the US airbase in Ramstein, Germany, a temporary home for thousands of Afghans moving to the United States, from which he will hold a virtual 20-nation ministerial meeting on the crisis alongside German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
