CAIRO, September 7. /TASS/. Rallies supporting the national resistance forces of Afghanistan’s northern Panjshir Province that did not yield to the Taliban radical movement (outlawed in Russia) seizing power in the country were held late on Monday in several Afghan cities, according to the electronic version of the local Herat Times newspaper.

According to it, the main rallies supporting the call of head of the armed resistance Ahmad Massoud to counteract the Taliban as well as against Pakistan which cooperates with the radicals were held in Kabul, in the central Daykundi Province as well as in the cities of Ghanzi and Herat in the country’s east and northwest, respectively. Additionally, the Afghanistan Times newspaper reports of a mass procession in Mazar-i-Sharif in the northern part of the country.

The main slogans of the protesters were "Long live Ahmad Massoud!", "Death to the Taliban!" and "Death to Pakistan!". No information was reported on any incidents during the rallies.

Former Director of National Directorate of Security Rahmatullah Nabil supported the protesters. "Pakistan was and is Afghanistan’s enemy. The uprising against Pakistani authorities is a national duty and responsibility of each Afghan citizen," he wrote on his Twitter page.

On Saturday, Pakistan’s Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed visited Kabul at the invitation of the Taliban leadership. During talks with the movement leaders and Afghan politicians, including former Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, he explained Islamabad’s position on the situation in Afghanistan and discussed the issues of relations between the two countries. Meanwhile, the representatives of the resistance in Panjshir have been accusing the Pakistani authorities of providing military and financial aid to the Taliban.

After the Biden administration had announced the end of Washington’s 20-year-long military operation in Afghanistan and the launch of its troop pullout, the Taliban embarked on an offensive against Afghan government forces.

On August 15, Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance, and gained full control over the Afghan capital within a few hours. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani said he had stepped down to prevent any bloodshed and subsequently fled the country. Vice President Amrullah Saleh announced that, in the absence of the head of state, the constitution empowered him to become the caretaker president and urged the Afghan people to join the resistance against the Taliban.

On Monday, Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid reported that Panjshir was completely controlled by the Taliban and the war on Afghanistan’s territory was over.

In his turn, Ahmad Massoud announced that the resistance to the radicals continues, urging all Afghanistan’s citizens to join the national uprising. Representative of the resistance fighters Ali Maisam Nazary specified that the resistance was adopting the guerilla war tactics. Later, a TASS source in Panjshir reported that intensive fighting in the region continues.