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NEW DELHI: Taliban forces and fighters loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud fought in Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley on Thursday, more than two weeks after the Islamist militia seized power, as Taliban leaders in Kabul worked on forming a government. Panjshir is the last Afghan province resisting rule by the Taliban. Each side said it had inflicted heavy casualties.
“We started operations after negotiation with the local armed group failed,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. Taliban fighters had entered Panjshir and taken control of some territory, he said. “They (the enemy) suffered heavy losses.” A spokesman for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA) rebel grouping said it had full control of all passes and entrances. “The enemy made multiple attempts to enter Shotul from Jabul-Saraj, and failed each time,” he said, referring to a town in neighbouring Parwan province.
In Panjshir, the NRFA spokesman said its forces had killed large numbers of Taliban fighters on two fronts since clashes first broke out earlier in the week. “It has been proven to the other side that they cannot resolve this issue through war,” the spokesman said. Both sides provided varying figures for the other’s casualties, without offering evidence. It was not possible to verify the numbers of fighters on either side killed. The Taliban say the Panjshir valley is surrounded on all four sides and a rebel victory is impossible. The rebels say they will refuse to surrender.
Since the Taliban swept into Kabul on August 15, several thousand fighters from local militias and remnants of the government’s armed forces have massed in Panjshir under the leadership of Massoud, son of a former Mujahideen commander. They have been holding out in the steep valley where attacks from outside are difficult.
Efforts to negotiate a settlement appear to have broken down, with each side blaming the other for the failure, as the Taliban prepared to announce a new government. Mujahid said this was a matter of a few days away while Taliban official Ahmadullah Muttaqi said a ceremony was being prepared at the presidential palace.
The legitimacy of the government in the eyes of international donors and investors will be crucial for the economy. The economy is expected to sink by 9.7% this financial year and 5.2% next year, Fitch said in a report. Foreign investment would be needed to support a more optimistic outlook, a scenario that assumed “some major economies, namely China and Russia, would accept the Taliban as the legitimate government”.
“We started operations after negotiation with the local armed group failed,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. Taliban fighters had entered Panjshir and taken control of some territory, he said. “They (the enemy) suffered heavy losses.” A spokesman for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA) rebel grouping said it had full control of all passes and entrances. “The enemy made multiple attempts to enter Shotul from Jabul-Saraj, and failed each time,” he said, referring to a town in neighbouring Parwan province.
In Panjshir, the NRFA spokesman said its forces had killed large numbers of Taliban fighters on two fronts since clashes first broke out earlier in the week. “It has been proven to the other side that they cannot resolve this issue through war,” the spokesman said. Both sides provided varying figures for the other’s casualties, without offering evidence. It was not possible to verify the numbers of fighters on either side killed. The Taliban say the Panjshir valley is surrounded on all four sides and a rebel victory is impossible. The rebels say they will refuse to surrender.
Since the Taliban swept into Kabul on August 15, several thousand fighters from local militias and remnants of the government’s armed forces have massed in Panjshir under the leadership of Massoud, son of a former Mujahideen commander. They have been holding out in the steep valley where attacks from outside are difficult.
Efforts to negotiate a settlement appear to have broken down, with each side blaming the other for the failure, as the Taliban prepared to announce a new government. Mujahid said this was a matter of a few days away while Taliban official Ahmadullah Muttaqi said a ceremony was being prepared at the presidential palace.
The legitimacy of the government in the eyes of international donors and investors will be crucial for the economy. The economy is expected to sink by 9.7% this financial year and 5.2% next year, Fitch said in a report. Foreign investment would be needed to support a more optimistic outlook, a scenario that assumed “some major economies, namely China and Russia, would accept the Taliban as the legitimate government”.
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