DNA Exclusive: Fall of Panjshir? Pakistan's footprints 'visible' in Taliban win over Resistance Army?

New Delhi: After days of struggle to hold on to the Panjshir valley, the Northern Alliance seems to have lost the battle to the Taliban. The Taliban have announced that they have taken full control of the valley. However, the victory has raised questions on the involvement of Pakistan which has clearly supported the Taliban from the beginning.

Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary on Monday (September 6) discussed the fall of Panjshir and the role played by Pakistan in it.

Many people around the world had their hopes on the Northern Alliance that perhaps they could take on the Taliban. But now, that last hope has been shattered. Many fighters and leaders of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan lost their lives fighting the Taliban.

A little while ago, Iran has expressed grief over the martyrdom of the leaders of the Northern Alliance in one of its statements and said that it will investigate the role of Pakistan in this war. There should be an international inquiry into whether Pakistan was involved in helping the Taliban capture Panjshir.

In Panjshir, the battle was going on for the past several days. Many leaders of the Northern Alliance claim that their fight against the Taliban is still going on and that they have not backed down.

However, the pictures which have come from Panjshir show that Panjshir has been captured by the Taliban. The Taliban fighters entered the Governor's House of Panjshir where they raised the flag of Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan.

Northern Alliance spokesperson Fahim Dashty was killed in the Taliban attack. He was not only the voice of the Northern Alliance but was also a very famous journalist of Afghanistan. He was fighting against the Taliban for many years.

Dashty was also the nephew of Abdullah Abdullah, one of the tallest leaders of Afghanistan who is currently in talks with the Taliban in the formation of the new government.

The top leader of the resistance front, Ahmad Massoud, has said that he will fight against the Taliban till the end. Massoud has made a serious allegation on Pakistan. He has said that the Pakistan Army is helping the Taliban in Panjshir.

The leaders of the resistance forces have said that Pakistan’s drones are being used to carry out attacks in Panjshir.

Since Pakistan cannot directly send its Air Force to attack, they are using drones. These drones, which are capable of aiming accurately, are being used to drop bombs in Panjshir.

Incidentally, chief of Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed on Saturday reached Kabul where he met with the Taliban leaders. The ISI chief is said to have asked Taliban leaders to give the Haqqani network a greater role in the new government. The visit certainly raises questions on Pakistan’s involvement with the Taliban.

Pakistan has, however, denied that its army was present in Panjshir. But the world knows the track record of the country. Even when the Kargil war started in 1999, for many days Pakistan did not admit that its army was involved. But when India gradually put forth hard evidence before the world, Pakistan had to admit they were lying.

Pakistan is doing the same thing in Panjshir. Its footprints are clearly 'visible' in the Taliban’s win over the resistance forces.