Panjshiri leader Ahmad Shah Massoud and former Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh have not fled Afghanistan and their resistance forces are still fighting the Taliban, the ousted Afghan government's ambassador to Tajikistan said on Wednesday.
Zahir Aghbar, envoy to Dushanbe under the government of ousted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, told a news conference in Tajikistan's capital that he was in regular contact with Saleh and that the resistance leaders were out of general communication for security reasons.
"Ahmad Massoud and Amrullah Saleh have not fled to Tajikistan. The news that Ahmad Massoud has left Panjshir is not true; he is inside Afghanistan," Aghbar said.
"I am in constant contact with Amrullah Saleh, who is currently in Panjshir and running the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's government," he said.
The Taliban swept to power last month and the group has said they have captured the Panjshir valley, a last holdout province, though the resistance has not conceded defeat.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
66 Killed In Floods In Northern Afghanistan, Over 1500 Houses Damaged 4 Killed In Shooting In Afghanistan's Bamiyan Province 33 Killed, 606 Homes Destroyed In Flash Floods In Afghanistan In 3 Days: Report Trump's Vice President Pick Reveals How His Hindu Wife Helped Him What Trump Rally Shooter Did On Last Day Of His Life "Someone Must Have Doubted...": Doctor On Trainee IAS Officer's Disability Claim Mumbai BMW Hit-And-Run Accused Mihir Shah Sent To Jail For 14 Days Try These Dairy-Free Foods To Help Boost Your Calcium 'Godman' Illegally Builds Temple Near Sacred Lake In Uttarakhand, Probe On Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.