Exclusive Ground Report: Resistance forces, Taliban face off in Afghanistan’s Panjshir valley

Resistance fighters in the Panjshir Valley are preparing for the fight against the Taliban, which could turn out to be the fight for the only province in Afghanistan that could still call the Taliban takeover into question.

India Todays Ahmad Naweed Kawaish with resistance forces in Panjshir Valley

HIGHLIGHTS

• Taliban say the resistance forces in Panjshir Valley have been “besieged”
• Ahmad Massoud is the son of anti-Soviet mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud
• Amrullah Saleh told India Today that the resistance will not allow the “Talibanization of Afghanistan”

As anti-Taliban forces gather in the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan, the Taliban are fighting to suppress the resistance led by Ahmad Massoud. Ten days have passed since the Taliban marched on Kabul and forced Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and first Vice President Amrullah Saleh to flee the capital.

While Ghani was granted asylum in the United Arab Emirates, Amrullah Saleh – who has declared himself deputy president of Afghanistan – has joined the Panjshir resistance.

READ: How the Panjshir Valley still stands between the Afghan ruins in the fight against the Taliban | Decrypted

Nearly 9,000 fighters, including members of local militias and members of the disbanded Afghan Defense Forces, are reportedly gathering at their base in Panjshir Valley, behind Ahmad Massoud and Amrullah Saleh.

Way to Afghan Panjshir Valley, where anti-Taliban forces have gathered | Credits: India Today

After the talks between the Panjshir resistance and the Taliban failed, hundreds of Taliban fighters were ordered to surround Panjshir on all sides.

Needless to say, the situation in and around the Panjshir Valley remains tense.

Commander of the Resistance Forces Preparing to Fight the Taliban | Credits: India Today

India Today is the first broadcaster to bring you an exclusive soil report from the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan.

India Today’s Ahmad Naweed Kawaish traveled to the Panjshir Valley, northwest of Kabul, and spoke to the resistance commander, a soldier training to fight the Taliban, and the Taliban commander in charge of the Panjshir – to break through the valley.

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