By Hajira Khota
07:09:2021

The Taliban have claimed victory over opposition forces in Panjshir, the last remaining province in Afghanistan, three weeks after conquering Kabul.

The whereabouts of resistance leader Ahmed Massoud and former vice president Amrullah Saleh, who joined the resistance after Kabul fell, were unknown at the time.

Radio Islam International interviewed Haroon Rashid, Ex Editor of BBC Pakistan; Ahmad Massoud, the son of the late anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, has led the armed resistance against Taliban control in Panjshir for the past three weeks. Panjshir was the only province in Afghanistan to escape the Taliban’s swift takeover last month.

When former President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, and the Taliban seized control of Kabul on August 15, the Taliban inherited much of the former national army’s military capability.

With the Taliban announcing their new administration in the coming days, all eyes will be on Massoud and the people of Panjshir, who have vowed to keep fighting.

The lack of information from the front lines of the struggle against the Taliban in Panjshir has been hampered by the virtual media embargo. Panjsheris in Kabul and abroad have had difficulty getting updates from their families back home in recent days.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Qatar to examine the chaos that has followed the United States’ exit from Afghanistan.
The Taliban is dealing with several obstacles as it transitions from armed uprising to administration, including humanitarian needs for which international aid is crucial.

The city of Panjshir is currently suffering from a severe lack of essentials. The Taliban have been blocking the route from Kabul to Panjshir for the past week, making it practically hard for commodities to enter the valley.

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