Taliban leaders in Kabul were just finalizing the formation of the new Afghan government, despite fighting again against resistance forces in northern Panjshir province on Saturday. According to unconfirmed reports, the insurgents entered the provincial capital Bazarak and stormed the governor’s office there.
Solemn shots by Taliban fighters who believed propaganda that the insurgents had finally conquered the Panjshir Valley resulted in heavy casualties in Kabul, with at least 17 people killed in the shooting.
Good news for concerned Afghans is that the runway at Kabul International Airport has been repaired to make way for incoming foreign aid and flights out of the country.
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1. The announcement of the new Afghan government has been postponed until next week after several high-level meetings between senior Taliban leaders. The members of the new cabinet will be named in two to three dayssaid Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy head of the Taliban’s Culture Commission. But first, the Taliban seem determined to wipe out Panjshir resistance before announcing who will lead the country. In the midst of this the Head of the Pakistani Inter-Services IntelligenceGeneral Faiz Hameed arrived in Kabul on Saturday at the invitation of the insurgent group.
2. The Taliban and resistance forces fought for control of Panjshir on Saturday Tal north of Kabul, the last Afghan province to oppose the Islamist group, with both sides claiming the upper hand without any conclusive evidence. While the insurgents claimed to have invaded Bazarak, the capital of Panjshir Province, and stormed the provincial governor’s officesaid the Afghan National Resistance Front that Taliban fighters on the borders of Kapisa and Panjshir province have been pushed back.
Afghan resistance fighters patrol a hill in Panjshir Province (AFP photo)
3. Violent shots were heard in Kabul late Friday evening after the Taliban claimed they had taken control of the Panjshir Valley and defeated the NRFA. However, Innocent bystanders paid the price for the premature cheers of the militants. The Kabul Emergency Hospital said at least 17 bodies and 41 wounded, including children, were brought to the facility – victims of the city-wide air strike.
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4th After successive rallies by small groups of women in Kabul and Herat calling for equality, things took an ugly turn on Saturday when the Taliban used tear gas and brutal violence to stop a protest march in the Afghan capital. Videos shared on social media showed a protester nursing a bleeding forehead. Despite assurances from leading Taliban leaders, Afghan women are demanding their right to education and employment under the rule of the hard-line Islamist group.
Afghan women hold posters and shout slogans during a protest rally in Kabul (AP photo)
5. In what may be welcome news for those desperate to flee Afghanistan, the Qatar ambassador to the country said a technical team was able to reopen Kabul Airport for assistance and domestic flights have resumed. Kabul airport has been closed since the end of the massive US-led airlift of its citizens, other Western citizens, and Afghans who helped Western countries. the US is also likely to provide humanitarian aid for internally displaced Afghans and refugees, but not for the Taliban government.
(With contributions from agencies)
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