What's in store for Afghan Resistance Front in Panjshir after Taliban kill its spokesperson?

Kabul: In a huge setback to the Afghan Resistance Front, its spokesman Fahim Dashti and a few others were killed in the ongoing fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan`s northeastern province of Panjshir.

“Afghan Resistance Front’s spokesman and a well-known journalist Fahim Dashti was killed in fighting in Panjshir province on Sunday," TOLO News reported citing a source from the region.

"Fahim Dashti, a spokesman of the Resistance Front and a well-known journalist, was killed in fighting in Panjshir province on Sunday," reports TOLOnews citing a source from Panjshir

— ANI (@ANI) September 5, 2021

Fahim Dashti was a senior member of the Jamiat-e-Islami party and a member of the Federation of Afghan Journalists. It was also reported that General Abdul Wadud, a close aide of Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the resistance forces in Afghanistan`s northeastern province of Panjshir, was also killed in the fighting in the Panjshir Valley.

The Panjshir Valley lies in the Hindu Kush mountains, approximately 90 miles north of Kabul. The Taliban have been unable to take this major holdout of resistance after steamrolling across pro-government troops in a matter of months.

The developments came after the war over Panjshir province escalated from Friday night and reports have emerged that the Valley may collapse soon. However, resistance forces have denied such claims, The Khaama Press reported.

In view of the setback, Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the resistance forces in Afghanistan`s northeastern province of Panjshir, on Sunday said resistance forces are ready to cease fighting and start negotiations if the Taliban leave the province.

Massoud also added that the National Resistance Front is committed to peacefully resolving differences with the Taliban in accordance with the principles of religion and morality. 

He welcomed proposals from religious scholars for a negotiated settlement to end the fighting. Ahmad Massoud, head of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA), made the announcement on the group`s Facebook page. Earlier, Taliban forces said they had fought their way into the provincial capital of Panjshir after securing the surrounding districts.

"The NRF in principle agree to solve the current problems and put an immediate end to the fighting and continue negotiations," Massoud said in the Facebook post.

"To reach a lasting peace, the NRF is ready to stop fighting on condition that Taliban also stop their attacks and military movements on Panjshir and Andarab," he said, referring to a district in the neighbouring province of Baghlan.