Taliban prohibit Afghan media from circulating news of Resistance leader Ahmad Massoud

According to reports, the Taliban also prevented former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah from meeting with their fellow citizens.

Image courtesy: Reuters

Kabul: The Taliban have prohibited Afghan news media from circulating the message of Ahmad Massoud, the leader of Panjshir National Resistance Front (NRF) who called for a "national uprising" against the Taliban, Sputnik reported on Monday.

"The Taliban have prohibited Afghan news media from circulating the call for resistance against the movement issued by Ahmad Massoud, one of the leaders of the National Resistance Front (NFR)," the Russian News Agency reported citing Al Arabiya News.

It further reported that the Taliban also prevented former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah from meeting with their fellow citizens.

This comes after Ahmad Massoud on Monday called for a "national uprising" against the Taliban. In an audio message sent to media, National Resistance Front commander Ahmad Massoud said, "Wherever you are, inside or outside, I call on you to begin a national uprising for the dignity, freedom and prosperity of our country," Aljazeera reported.

Meanwhile, there have been conflicting reports of Panjshr, the last Afghan province to fall under the control of the Taliban as NRF have rejected the claim. 

On August 15, the Taliban entered Kabul, which led to the collapse of the US-supported civilian government. 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. 

Panjshir resistance spokesperson Fahim Dashti was reported dead in a clash with the Taliban on Sunday. He was also the nephew of Abdullah Abdullah, a senior official of the former government who is involved in negotiations with the Taliban on the future of Afghanistan.