The Unmovable Resistance in Afghanistan's Panjshir
"Panjshir, which was the last hideout of the escapee enemy, is captured.""[There will be no] discriminatory act against them [people of the valley]. They are our brothers and would work together for a joint purpose and welfare of the country.""[Women are back at work in the health and education sectors and] other fields will be provided one by one once the system has been established for them [under Sharia law]."Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman, Taliban"We are in Panjshir and our Resistance will continue.""The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan [NFRA] are present in all strategic positions across the valley to continue the fight."Ali Maisam Nazary, head of foreign relations, NRFA
 |
| Members of the Taliban stand at the gate of the provincial governor's office in Panjshir. Social Media Handout Via Reuters |
The chief of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, born out of the old Northern Alliance, son of the former head of the Northern Alliance who had held off Soviet Forces in the 1980s, then later defied and fought off the first iteration of the Taliban as it took over Afghanistan, and succeeded with the flyover assistance of U.S. forces in ousting the Taliban finally in 2001, has survived clashes with the Taliban. Panjshiri leader commanding the NRFA, Ahmad Massoud, assured his supporters that he was safe, without revealing his whereabouts.
Taliban fighters have been photographed before the gate of the Panjshir provincial governor's compound following days of fierce fighting with the NRFA. His forces, said Massoud, were still fighting. The former vice-president of the Afghan government had taken haven in Panjshir, along with many remnants of the Afghan military, joining local militia fighters. They have no intention of submitting to the Taliban. The nearby mountains are their friends, just as the mountainous region between Afghanistan and Pakistan became the home of the Taliban while NATO and US troops were in the country.
Taliban words soft-peddling their intentions respecting treatment of their adversaries fool no one, neither their opponents, former government workers, Afghans who had collaborated with Western diplomats and troops, aid workers or Afghan women accustomed to their freedom, all understanding those reassurances to be aimed at the outside world looking in with trepidation over the fate of the Afghan people ruled once again by an Islamist fundamentalist terrorist group.
Long admired for its refusal to abide by Taliban rule, the valley north of Kabul was a fortress of resistance for the Northern Alliance whose fighters finally managed to help destroy Taliban rule of the country. Former vice-president Amrullah Saleh, who had declared himself the legitimate head of government in the absence of the president who had departed Afghanistan, escaped capture by the Taliban by seeking haven in Tajikistan.
The United States, along with others of its Western allies is attempting to reach an evacuation agreement for its nationals with the Taliban leaders. Planeloads of U.S. citizens and key Afghan allies were refused permission to fly out of the country by the Taliban who blamed the delay on the U.S. State Department which had long since signed off on the flights. Others are attempting overland evacuations, taking care not to name the countries willing to offer them temporary sanctuary.
Labels: Afghanistan, Conflict, National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, Panjshir Valley, Taliban
posted by Pieface @ Wednesday, September 08, 2021
<< Home