'Fight against Taliban will continue': Afghan Resistance Front rejects 'Panjshir captured' claim

Panjshir: Rubbishing the Taliban’s claim that they have captured the last Afghan hold-out province of Panjshir, the National Resistance Front (NRF) of Afghanistan on Monday said that their fight against Taliban will continue.

The Front’s leaders said that the resistance forces are present at all strategic positions across the Panjshir Valley to continue the fight. They further assured the people of Afghanistan that the struggle against the Taliban and their partners will continue until justice and freedom prevails.

The information was shared through the unverified Twitter account of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan.

"Taliban`s claim of occupying Panjshir is false. The NRF forces are present in all strategic positions across the valley to continue the fight. We assure the people of Afghanistan that the struggle against the Taliban & their partners will continue until justice & freedom prevails," the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan said in a tweet.

Taliban’s claim of occupying Panjshir is false. The NRF forces are present in all strategic positions across the valley to continue the fight. We assure the ppl of Afghanistan that the struggle against the Taliban & their partners will continue until justice & freedom prevails.

— National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (@nrfafg) September 6, 2021

Earlier, the Taliban has claimed the capture of the Afghan province of Panjshir. "Recent efforts to ensure complete security in the country have also brought results, and the Panjshir province has come under the full control of the Islamic Emirate (the name used by the Taliban)," said Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid, as quoted by Sputnik.

This comes hours after Panjshir resistance spokesperson Fahim Dashti was reported dead in a clash with the Taliban on Sunday.

After the fall of Kabul on August 15, Panjshir province remained the only defiant holdout where resistance forces led by Ahamd Masoud, the son of late former Afghan guerrilla commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, were fighting the Taliban. 

The geography has witnessed heavy conflict between the warring sides in the past four days and both parties are claiming to have inflicted heavy casualties.

Panjshir has been the stronghold of the National Resistance Front, led by Ahmad Massoud and former Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who declared himself caretaker president. 

On Sunday, Massoud said that he was ready to cease fighting and start negotiations if the Taliban abandoned the province. Both sides claimed to have the upper hand in Panjshir but neither could produce conclusive evidence to prove it.