Taliban claims control of Panjshir; opposition says resistance will continue

 

Taliban claims control of Panjshir; opposition says resistance will continue

 On Monday, Taliban announced its victory in the last part of Afghanistan that is still steadfast against its rule, declaring that its control over the Panjshir Valley has completed its control over the country and will unveil a new government soon.

Pictures on social media showed Taliban elements standing in front of the Panjshir governor's compound gate.

"Panjshir was the last hideout of the fleeing enemy, has been captured," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference.

The steep valley north of Kabul has long been notorious for fending off attacks, including those by Soviet forces in the 1980s and the Taliban during their previous rule in the 1990s. It was the main stronghold of the Northern Alliance resistance fighters who ousted the Taliban with US air support in 2001 after the September 11 attacks on the United States. The residents there speak Farsi and are ethnically different from the Pashtun Taliban.

Taliban assured the valley's residents that there would be no "discriminatory action against them."

"They are our brothers, and they will work together for a common purpose and the welfare of the nation," Mujahid said.

However, Massoud, the son of a hero of the resistance to the Soviets and the Taliban, remained defiant. He said his force was still fighting, made up of remnants of the regular Afghan army and local militia fighters.

"We are in Panjshir, and our resistance will continue," he said on Twitter. He also said he was safe but did not give details of his whereabouts.

"The Salvation National Front forces are in all strategic locations across the valley to continue the fight," Ali Maysam Nazari, NRFA's head of external relations, said on Facebook.