3 years ago
The Taliban on Monday claimed total control over Afghanistan as they said they had won the key battle for the Panjshir Valley, the last remaining holdout of resistance against their rule.
Following their lightning-fast victory in mid-August over the former Afghan government's security forces and the withdrawal of US troops after 20 years of war, the Taliban had turned to fight the forces defending the mountainous Panjshir Valley.
As the Islamist hardliners claimed victory, their chief spokesman warned against any further attempts to rise up against their rule, while he also urged former members of the security forces to join their regime's ranks.
"With this victory, our country is completely taken out of the quagmire of war," chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a press conference in Kabul.
"The Islamic Emirate is very sensitive about insurgencies. Anyone who tries to start an insurgency will be hit hard. We will not allow another," he added.
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The Taliban on Monday claimed total control over Afghanistan as they said they had won the key battle for the Panjshir Valley, the last remaining holdout of resistance against their rule.
Following their lightning-fast victory in mid-August over the former Afghan government's security forces and the withdrawal of US troops after 20 years of war, the Taliban had turned to fight the forces defending the mountainous Panjshir Valley.
As the Islamist hardliners claimed victory, their chief spokesman warned against any further attempts to rise up against their rule, while he also urged former members of the security forces to join their regime's ranks.
"With this victory, our country is completely taken out of the quagmire of war," chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a press conference in Kabul.
"The Islamic Emirate is very sensitive about insurgencies. Anyone who tries to start an insurgency will be hit hard. We will not allow another," he added.
Iran "strongly" condemns Taliban offensive on Panjshir Valley
Iran on Monday "strongly" condemned the Taliban's military offensive against holdout fighters in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley, as the Islamist group claimed it had taken control of the area.
"The news coming from Panjshir is truly worrying," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters. "The assault is strongly condemned."
Iran, the region's dominant Muslim Shiite power, had until now refrained from criticising the Taliban since the Sunni group seized Kabul on August 15.
The Taliban on Monday claimed victory in the mountainous Panjshir area, with a spokesman declaring "our country is completely taken out of the quagmire of war", three weeks after the Islamists captured the capital.
But the National Resistance Front (NRF) -- made up of anti-Taliban militia and former Afghan security forces -- said its fighters were still present in "strategic positions" across the valley, and that they were continuing the struggle.
"On the question of Panjshir, I have insisted on the fact that it be resolved by dialogue in the presence of all the Afghan elders," Khatibzadeh said.
"The Taliban must equally respect their obligations in terms of international law, and their commitments," he added, affirming that "Iran will work to put an end to all the suffering of the Afghan people in favour of establishing a representative government for all Afghans".
Update| Taliban ask former Afghan forces to integrate with new regime: spokesman
Taliban spokesman says any insurgency "will be hit hard"
The Taliban on Monday said that any insurgency against their rule would be "hit hard", after earlier saying they had captured the Panjshir Valley -- the last pocket of resistance.
"The Islamic Emirate is very sensitive about insurgencies. Anyone who tries to start an insurgency will be hit hard. We will not allow another," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said at a press conference.
Just In| Taliban spokesman says any insurgency "will be hit hard"
Resistance Counters Taliban, Says Panjshir "Fighting Continues": 10 Facts
Denying the Talibans claim of the "complete capture" of the holdout Panshir Valley, the Afghan National Resistance Front (NRF) told NDTV today: "The road in the Panjshir Valley is with the Taliban. However, fighting continues in the sub-valleys." Read more
5 Points On Significance Of Panjshir Valley And Resistance To Taliban
The Taliban today claimed the "complete capture" of Panshir Valley, the last pocket of resistance in Afghanistan. The Afghan National Resistance Front (NRF), however, denied it, saying the fight would continue.
The Taliban today claimed the "complete capture" of Panshir Valley, the last pocket of resistance in Afghanistan. The Afghan National Resistance Front (NRF), however, denied it, saying the fight would continue.
- After the fall of Kabul on August 15, Panjshir remained the holdout where resistance forces led by Ahmad Massoud, the son of former Afghan guerrilla commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, fought the Taliban.
- The Panjshir fighting has been the most prominent example of resistance to the Taliban. On Sunday, Massoud said he was ready to cease fighting and start negotiations if the Taliban abandoned the province.
- Panjshir, a rugged mountainous valley north of Kabul still littered with the wreckage of destroyed Soviet tanks, has proved very difficult to overcome in the past.
- Taliban officials have said previously their forces had secured full control of Panjshir but fighting has been continuing for days. Pictures on social media showed Taliban members standing in front of the gate of the Panjshir provincial governor's compound on Monday.
- Under Ahmad Massoud's late father, Ahmad Shah Massoud, Panjshir resisted both the invading Soviet army and the previous Taliban government. On Sunday, Massoud said hundreds of Taliban fighters had surrendered to the resistance forces.
"Struggle Against Taliban Will Continue": Resistance Group On Panjshir
The anti-Taliban resistance force in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley vowed Monday to carry on fighting, after the Taliban said they had captured the area. Read more
The anti-Taliban resistance force in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley vowed Monday to carry on fighting, after the Taliban said they had captured the area. Read more
#Afghanistan | Taliban say #PanjshirValley "completely captured". Pictures on social media showed Taliban members standing in front of the gate of the Panjshir provincial governor's compound.
- NDTV (@ndtv) September 6, 2021
NDTV's Sreenivasan Jain reports pic.twitter.com/XQFu9D8pAs
Taliban Kills Pregnant Afghan Policewoman In Front Of Her Family: Report
An Afghan policewoman was shot dead by the Taliban in front of her family in Ghor province, an Afghan journalist informed in a tweet.
Nigara was 6 months pregnant and was shot in front of her husband and children, the journalist informed.
On Sunday, a Sputnik correspondent reported, Women started buying head and body coverings out of fear that the Taliban would hunt down and beat them up if they were seen without hijabs or burqas, something similar to what used to happen in the country in the 1990s.
These developments came a few days after dozens of Afghan women held protests in Herat demanding rights and female representation in the government formation after the Taliban took control of the war-ravaged country.
Protestors were carrying banners with slogans against the exclusion of women from the country's political system under the regime of the Taliban, Tolo News reported.
"If We Die ...": What Afghan Resistance Leader, Killed, Had Told NDTV
The spokesperson of the anti-Taliban resistance in Panjshir was killed in a fierce gunfight on Sunday. Just days ago, Fahim Dashty, chief spokesperson of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA), had told NDTV: "If we die, history will write about us, as people who stood for their country till the end of the line". Read more
Just In| Taliban say Panjshir Valley "completely captured": news agency AFP
Resistance Leader's Nephew Killed In Anti-Taliban Stronghold: Report
The Afghan national resistance front on Monday informed that another senior member of their group, General Abdul Wudod Zara has been killed during the standoff between rebel forces and the Taliban. Read more
Spokesperson Of Afghan Resistance Group Killed In Panjshir: Report
A spokesman of the Resistance Front was killed in fighting in Panjshir province on Sunday, reported TOLOnews citing a source from Panjshir.
Dashti was a senior member of the Jamiat-e-Islami party and a member of the Federation of Afghan Journalists, as reported by the Khaama Press. Read more
Blinken heads to Qatar on Afghan crisis mission
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed Sunday to Qatar on his first trip since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan as he seeks a united front with allies shaken by the chaos.
Qatar, 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's stunningly swift victory amid a US withdrawal, AFP reported.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed Sunday to Qatar on his first trip since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan as he seeks a united front with allies shaken by the chaos.
Qatar, 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's stunningly swift victory amid a US withdrawal, AFP reported.
Everyone "Got It Wrong" On Taliban's Lightning Takeover Of Afghanistan: British Army Chief
The world "got it wrong" on how quickly the Taliban would take over Afghanistan, the head of the British army said on Sunday, days after the UK government acknowledged that intelligence suggested that "it was unlikely Kabul would fall this year" after Western troops withdrew from the war-torn country.
The US and other countries were caught off-guard by the Taliban's lightning conquest of Afghanistan last month and the strikingly rapid fall of the Afghan military and government backed by the West once NATO troops left the country. Read Here
The world "got it wrong" on how quickly the Taliban would take over Afghanistan, the head of the British army said on Sunday, days after the UK government acknowledged that intelligence suggested that "it was unlikely Kabul would fall this year" after Western troops withdrew from the war-torn country.
The US and other countries were caught off-guard by the Taliban's lightning conquest of Afghanistan last month and the strikingly rapid fall of the Afghan military and government backed by the West once NATO troops left the country. Read Here
