The Taliban said on Monday they had occupied Afghanistan’s last resistance zone, the Panjshir Valley, despite opposition fighters vowing to continue fighting hardline Islamists.
After the blitzkrieg defeat of the Afghan army last month and the celebration of the last American forces to fly after the 20-year war, the Taliban turned to fighting forces defending the mountainous Panjshir Valley.
Chief Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said: “With this victory, our country is completely out of the quagmire of war.”
An image posted by the Taliban on social media shows Taliban fighters in the office of the governor of Panjshir province.
However, the National Resistance Front (NRF), made up of anti-Taliban militias and former Afghan security forces, claimed that its fighters are still in a “strategic position” in the valley and continue to fight.
“We assure the Afghan people that the struggle with the Taliban and its partners will continue until justice and freedom prevail,” NRF tweeted in English.
The Taliban’s claim that they occupied Panjshir was wrong. NRF troops appeared in all strategic locations in the valley to continue the battle. We assure the Afghan people that the fight against the Taliban and its partners will continue until justice and freedom prevail.
-Afghan National Resistance Front (@nrfafg) September 6, 2021
On Sunday night, they admitted that they had suffered heavy losses on the Panjshir battlefield and called for a ceasefire. The
NRF includes local fighters loyal to Ahmed Masood, son of the famous anti-Soviet and anti-Italian commander Ahmed Shah Masood, as well as remnants of the Afghan army who withdrew to the Panjshir Valley.
The organization said in a tweet on Sunday that NRF spokesman Fahim Dashty and famous military commander General Abdul Wudod Zara had recently died in the battle.
NRF promised to fight the Taliban, but also expressed its willingness to negotiate with the Islamists. But the initial contact did not produce a breakthrough.
Panjshir Valley is famous for its resistance against Soviet troops in the 1980s and the Taliban in the late 1990s.
After the Taliban entered Kabul three weeks ago, their new regime has not yet been finalized. Analysts say that even hardline Islamists may be surprised.
The new rulers of Afghanistan promised to be more “tolerant” than when they first took power, also after years of conflict, first the Soviet invasion in 1979 and then the bloody civil war.
The freedom of Afghan women was severely restricted under Taliban rule in 1996-2001.
Taliban education authorities said in a lengthy document released on Sunday that this time, as long as classes are separated by gender or at least separated by curtains , women can go to college.
But female students must also wear abaya (robes) and niqab (veils), which is the opposite of the more conservative burqas imposed by the former Taliban regime.
As the Taliban are working to transition from insurgency to government, they face many challenges, including the critical humanitarian needs of international assistance.
The head of UN humanitarian affairs, Martin Griffiths, arrived in Kabul to meet with the Taliban leaders for several days. The Taliban leaders promised to help.
United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric (Stephane. Dujarric) said in a statement: “The authorities promise that the safety of humanitarian personnel and access to those in need of humanitarian assistance will be guaranteed. Freedom of movement will be guaranteed, regardless of men and women.” The
Taliban spokesperson said on Twitter that the organization’s delegation assured the United Nations of cooperation.
The international community reached an agreement with the new Taliban regime through diplomatic turmoil.
US Secretary of State Anthony Brinken will arrive in Qatar on Monday. He is a key figure in the Afghan legend.
Qatar is home to a major US military base. It has been the gateway to the 55,000 airlifted from Afghanistan, accounting for nearly half of the total number of U.S.-led forces evacuated after the Taliban took over on August 15.
Blinken will also talk to Qatari about Turkey’s efforts to reopen Kabul’s airport, which is necessary to deliver much-needed humanitarian assistance and evacuate the remaining Afghans.
They promised to establish a government that represents the complex ethnic composition of Afghanistan, although women are unlikely to be included in the highest ranking.
Blinken will then go to the U.S. Air Force Base in Ramstein, Germany, where thousands of Afghans emigrating to the U.S. are temporarily homes. On Wednesday, he will hold a virtual minister with foreign ministers on crises in 20 countries. Level meeting. Heiko Maas, a German expat.
