Taliban yet to name government as resistance in Panjshir Valley holds

The province, which held out for nearly a decade against the Soviet Union and the Taliban’s first regime, is stubbornly fighting on

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)
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)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — 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.

An Afghan resistance movement member patrols on a hilltop in Darband area in Anaba district, Panjshir province, on September 1, 2021 (Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP)

Away from the valley, the international community was coming to terms with having to deal with the new Taliban regime with a flurry of diplomacy.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due on Sunday in Qatar, a key player in the Afghan saga and the location of the Taliban’s political office, though he is not expected to meet with the militants.

He will then travel to Germany, to lead a virtual 20-nation ministerial meeting on Afghanistan alongside German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is also set to convene a high-level meeting on Afghanistan in Geneva on September 13, to focus on humanitarian assistance for the country.

The UN has already restarted humanitarian flights to parts of Afghanistan, while the country’s flag carrier Ariana Afghan Airlines resumed domestic flights on Friday and the United Arab Emirates sent a plane carrying “urgent medical and food aid.”

Western Union and Moneygram, meanwhile, said that they were restarting cash transfers, which many Afghans rely on from relatives abroad to survive.

Afghan resistance movement and anti-Taliban uprising forces patrol along a road in Rah-e Tang of Panjshir province, on August 29, 2021 (Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP)

China has already confirmed that it will keep its embassy in Kabul open.

Afghanistan’s new rulers have pledged to be more accommodating 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.

That regime was notorious for its brutal interpretation of Islamic law, and its treatment of women, who were forced inside and denied access to school and work.

This time around, the Taliban have made repeated declarations that they will not carry out revenge attacks on opponents, and women will have access to education and some employment.

Afghan resistance movement and anti-Taliban uprising forces are pictured on a Soviet-era tank as they are deployed to patrol along a road in the Astana area of Bazarak in Panjshir province, on August 27, 2021 (Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP)

They have promised a more “inclusive” government that represents Afghanistan’s complex ethnic makeup — though women are unlikely to be included at the top levels.

In Kabul, some 30 women took to the streets on Friday to demand the right to work and inclusion in the government — a day after dozens held a similar protest in the western city of Herat.

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