CAIRO, August 31. /TASS/. National resistance forces in Afghanistan’s northern province of Panjshir, which refuses to recognize the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) authority, have refuted reports by the Taliban that they have taken control of three Panjshir districts.
"The Taliban are spreading disinformation again. They attempted a breakthrough into Panjshir from the western direction but were rebuffed, sustaining big losses. Dozens of Taliban militants were killed, wounded or taken prisoner," a source close to the Panjshir resistance told TASS over the phone on Tuesday.
The Taliban said earlier that they seized three important districts and passes in Panjshir and will soon announce their complete victory.
The source in Panjshir told TASS on Monday that the resistance forces repelled a Taliban attack on an outpost in Panjshir’s western part.
The first direct talks between delegations from the National Resistance Front (NRF) and the Taliban radical movement were held in the city of Charikar (the capital of Parwan Province - TASS) last week.
Fahim Dashti, spokesman for the resistance movement, told TASS earlier that an agreement on a cessation of hostilities with the Taliban was only being negotiated. He said that Panjshir disagrees with the idea of introducing a "symbolic representation of ethnic groups in the government" and insists on forming truly inclusive government bodies.
After the Biden administration announced the end of its US military operation in Afghanistan and the launch of its troop pullout, the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) 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 said that under the constitution, he becomes "the caretaker president" in the absence of the president and called for armed resistance against the Taliban.
The northern province of Panjshir is the only pocket of resistance to the Taliban. It is led by Ahmad Massoud, a son of Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953-2001), a once influential leader of Afghanistan’s Tajik community who fought against the Taliban back in the 1990s.