CAIRO, September 6. /TASS/. Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front (NRF) in Afghanistan’s northern Panjshir province, which steadfastly refuses to recognize Taliban (outlawed in Russia) authority, has called on all Afghans to counter the Taliban.
"I call on all people in Afghanistan, on all our brothers and sisters in all parts of the country to counter oppressors. Our struggle is not over, <…> fighting against the Taliban continues," he said in an audio address posted on his Facebook account on Monday.
According to Massoud, "a nationwide uprising in the name of freedom, religion and the country’s independence" is underway.
"Yesterday’s militant attack once again demonstrated that representatives of foreign forces are also fighting against the Afghan people," he said and called on the international community "to condemn the actions of the Taliban and those who help them."
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said earlier that the Taliban had taken control of all of Panjshir and the war in Afghanistan was over.
Situation in Afghanistan
After the Biden administration announced the end of its US 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 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.