Amid reports of Panjshir – a bastion of resistance against the Taliban – being the target of insurgents who had previously taken control of Afghanistan, National Resistance Front spokesman Ali Maisam Nazari has said the movement is poised for a “long term”. confrontation”.
General Bismillah Mohammadi, a former defense minister in Ashraf Ghani’s government, said in a tweet on Sunday that Panjshir would not surrender and would continue to protest. Reports have also claimed that anti-Taliban forces are gaining strength in Panjshir to control Pul-e-Hesar, Deh Salah and Bano.
Now, Ahmed Masood, son of the great Mujahideen commander Ahmed Shah Masood, who was assassinated by al-Qaeda two days before the September 11, 2001 attacks, has assembled a combat force of about 9,000 men in Panjshir.
Resistance Movement Plans, Preparation: :
• Ready for prolonged conflict, but wants talks with Taliban: His spokesman told AFP in an interview that former Afghan government forces forming a resistance movement in a fortified valley are preparing for a “prolonged conflict” but are also seeking talks with the Taliban.
• Thousands of recruitment to go to Panjshir, preparation for preparation: Ali Maisam Nazari said that since the Taliban took control of the country after lightning struck the capital Kabul, thousands of people made their way to Panjshir to find a safe haven to join the fighting and continue their lives Is. Photos taken by AFP during a training exercise showed dozens of recruits performing fitness routines, and a handful of armored Humvees driving in a valley northeast of Kabul.
• Main goal of NRF: Avoid bloodshed, press for new system of government: The main goal of the National Resistance Front is to avoid further bloodshed in Afghanistan and to press for a new system of government. But Nazari said the group was also ready for conflict, and that they would face resistance across the country if the Taliban did not negotiate. “The terms of the peace deal with the Taliban is decentralization – a system that ensures social justice, equality, rights and freedoms for all,” Nazari told AFP, the NRF’s head of foreign relations, if the Taliban does not agree. There will be “prolonged conflict”.
• Local militias form ties with NRF, Taliban escalate: Nazari said that talks between the local leaders of the north of Afghanistan and officials of Pakistan were going on till a few days ago. While the Taliban controls the vast majority of Afghanistan, Nazri optimistically highlighted reports that local militias in some districts have already begun to oppose his hardline regime and form ties with Masood’s NRF. . “Massud did not order these things to happen, but they are all connected with us,” Nazari said. “The Taliban are too many. They can’t be everywhere at the same time. Their resources are limited. They don’t have support among the majority.”
• Masood, Saleh have different views: He said, however, that Masood had differing views about Amrulla Saleh, later the country’s vice president, who was also holed up in the Valley and vowed to lead the rebellion last week. “Mr Saleh is in Panjshir. He chose to stay in the country and flee,” Nazari said, noting Saleh’s strong anti-Pakistan stance was at odds with Masood who wanted good relations with Afghanistan’s pro-Taliban neighbour. are opponents. It does not mean that he is part of this movement. He is in Panjshir and is respected.”
• Aim to protect Panjshir and its people: Nazari said the aim for now is to protect Panjshir and his people. “If there is aggression because our fight is only for defense; If someone attacks us, we will defend ourselves.”
• Intellectuals, women activists, politicians also in Panjshir: Nazari said that along with Masood’s fighting force, Panjshir now hosts more than 1,000 displaced people from across Afghanistan, who have migrated to the valley in search of sanctuary. “We are seeing that Panjshir has become a safe zone for all groups who feel threatened in other provinces.” He said the province has seen an influx of intellectuals, women and human rights activists and politicians who “feel a threat from the Taliban”.
• Masood asked for weapons from America: Massoud called for arms from the United States in an op-ed published in the Washington Post on Thursday. Nazari told AFP he also needed humanitarian aid to feed and care for the newcomers. Masood is determined to stand with the people of the Valley and take over his father’s post, Nazari said, adding that Afghanistan needs a federal system of government to close its endless cycle of war.
• ‘Ray of Hope’: “War is just a byproduct of conflict in Afghanistan. The reason for conflict is that Afghanistan is a country made up of ethnic minorities… (and) in a multi-ethnic country you cannot have one ethnic group dominate politics and Others exist on the margins,” Nazari said, noting that Masood’s resistance, and others across Afghanistan, are instrumental in driving this change. “Panjshir has always been a ray of hope.”
With inputs from AFP.
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