PESHAWAR: The Taliban on Monday morning claimed “complete control” of Panjshir province from the National Resistance Front (NRF).
The group’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a brief statement that some opposition leaders in Panjshir province had been crushed and others had fled. He also assured the people of Panjshir that they would not be discriminated against and that, according to him, all Afghans would work for the development of Afghanistan.
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There is also an unconfirmed video of some Taliban militants standing in front of the Panjshir governor’s office, talking about capturing the province. But sources close to the National Resistance Front in Panjshir have denied the Taliban’s claim, insisting that strategic parts of the province are still under the NRF control. The front also claimed that Pakistani military planes had bombed various areas in Panjshir last night.
Panjshir was the last province, after the Taliban took control of the capital Kabul, where anti-Taliban forces resisted and there have been fierce clashes between the two sides. The National Resistance Front confirmed last night one of its senior commanders has been killed in a clash on Sunday. A statement issued by the group said, “A former Mujahideen commander, General Abdul Wadud Zhor, was also killed in the clash in Rukha district of the province.”
Earlier, the National Resistance Front said it is ready to accept a call from the Afghan Ulema Council if the Taliban the military operations. The Council of Religious Scholars of Afghanistan said that the war in Panjshir has no “shariah basis” and called on both sides to end the conflict. Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front, wrote on his Facebook page that he “accept the Ulema Council declaration and hope that the Taliban will take its decision more seriously.”
The Ulema council said that in statement that there is no religious, humanitarian or logical reason why the Taliban have declared war for the ‘establishment of an Islamic state’? The council expressed confidence that they can negotiate with the Taliban for the future system and peaceful solution of the conflict through peace talks.”