PESHAWAR: The Northern Resistance Forces in Afghanistan claimed to have killed 300 Taliban fighters on Monday after war broke out for the Panjshir valley which is one of the few parts of the country not under the direct control of the Taliban.
Social media photos and video show “hundreds” of Taliban militants were marching towards Panjshir valley with a convoy of vehicles and weapons, warning that if the Northern Resistance Forces did not surrender, they will be crushed.
Amrullah Saleh, the first vice president of ousted Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, said on that “resistance forces” had ambushed the Taliban in Andarab and inflicted heavy casualties on the group. Mr Saleh wrote on his Twitter that the Taliban had gathered at the entry point of Panjshir, but claimed that “resistance forces” had closed the Salang Pass.
Saleh has left the capital after the Taliban took control of Kabul on 15 August and is currently claiming that he is in Afghanistan and is engaged in organizing military resistance against the Taliban. He reiterated that he will not surrender to the Taliban; neither will he sit at the same table with the militant group. The Taliban have not commented on Saleh’s remarks, but the group’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, has said that they are trying to resolve the conflict through talks with all armed opponents.
However, another anti-Taliban alliance in northern and central Afghanistan said that they are ready for talks with the Taliban but also also ready for a protracted war if the need arises. The alliance is led by Ahmad Massoud, the son of former jihadi commander Ahmad Shah Massoud. He has claimed that 5,000 fighters in Panjshir valley are ready for war with the Taliban. He said, “I am ready to sit for talks with the Taliban, but if need arises, I will fight to the last,” Massoud said. He added that his group is ready to form an inclusive government with the Taliban through dialogue but a hard-line government is “unacceptable” as it will be a threat not only to Afghanistan but to the entire region.