Top leaders of the Panjshir resistance , Ahmad Massoud and Amrullah Saleh have declared that the Taliban’s “caretaker cabinet illegal and a clear sign of the group's enmity with the Afghan people".
The National Resistance Front established by the Panjshiri fighters, is going to announce a new inclusive government. “We will announce the cabinet soon. The NRF led by Ahmad Massoud rejects the caretaker cabinet of the Taliban. After consulting with political figures and specialized cadres, he will announce the formation of a transitional government,” the NRF said in a statement.
#Taliban announced their new Islamic Government's cabinet. All cabinet members are care takers. Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund is acting prime minister, with two deputies: Mullah Baradar and Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi. Mawlawi Fasihuddin is appointed as the Chief of Army Staff. https://t.co/TqWsmPdf5i
— Afghan Analyst (@AbdulMateenImr1) September 7, 2021
Ahmad Massoud, the resistance leader and son of the “lion of Panjshir” Ahmad Shah Massoud said in a statement that his forces are in control of Panjshir Valley and several districts in Andarab, Pul-e-Hisar, Bannu and Deh Salah. Calling Taliban’s government illegal and against the wishes of Afghans, the statement pointed out that “the people of Afghanistan have in the past resisted selfishness, extremism, anti-terrorism, anti-women government and will continue to fight to save the country from the Taliban and terrorists," Massoud had said in a voice message on Wednesday.
Also read: Taliban goes for the kill in Panjshir with ISI Chief in command
According to the statement, “the composition of the Taliban government shows that these groups have taken a more radical and monopolistic approach to the issue of power and politics in Afghanistan.”
The status of the Panjshir Valley in the east of Afghanistan remained unclear on Tuesday amid claims and counterclaims, following Taliban statements that the militants had taken the last holdout province in the country even as anti-Taliban resistance members vowed to keep fighting. Afghanistan has two governments – first Taliban led Islamic Emirate and another Ahmad Massoud and Amrullah Saleh led Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
While the Taliban has claimed that it controls the entire Afghanistan including Panjshir, Ahmad Massoud dismissing the claim said that Panjshir is still free and holding against the Taliban. Massoud and “acting” president Saleh have been leading the anti-Taliban NRF since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul.
Fahim Fetrat, a spokesman for the NRF in the Panjshir Valley, said that the resistance fighters have come under heavy attacks from “Taliban forces on the ground and Pakistani drones from the air”. He added: “We are in a new phase of the war. We’re entering the guerrilla warfare phase now.”
Fetrat pointed out that this is not the first time the group maintains its resistance. “The same thing happened during the Soviet occupation in the 1980s and the war against the Taliban in the 1990s- the enemy captured the towns but we resisted in the mountains.”
Tehran Times, Iran affiliated media said in a post on Wednesday that “Pakistan military is assisting the Taliban offensive in Panjshir. It includes 27 choppers that are full of Pakistani Special Forces, and backed up by Pakistani drone strikes.”
Pakistan military are assisting the #Taliban offensive in #Panjshir. It is included 27 choppers that are full of Pakistani Special Forces, and backed up by Pakistani drone strikes : CENTCOM source told @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/IDt2HplI8z
— Tehran Times (@TehranTimes79) September 8, 2021
“The people of Afghanistan do not hate any country as much as they do Pakistan’s military. Because it is the third time that Pakistan’s army has broken apart Afghanistan’s government. The overt and covert presence of the Pakistanis has sharply damaged people’s emotions and the continuation of this situation is not acceptable,” says former Afghan intelligence chief Rahmatullah Nabil.
