Battle for Panjshir: How Ahmad Massoud’s forces were able to fight Taliban

A state of confusion persists over the status of Afghanistan’s Panjshir valley, which has been the site of a ferocious battle between Ahmad Massoud-led resistance forces and the Taliban, which seized power in Kabul on August 15.

However, even as claims and counter claims continue, the National Resistance Front’s (NRF) resistance against the Taliban’s advance has been stiff.

Here are a few reasons why the regime has found it extreme difficult to defeat the NRF and capture Panjshir, as reported in Live Hindustan:

(1.) Up to 10,000 well-trained fighters: The resistance forces comprise armed members of the local militia and former members of Afghanistan’s security forces. Together, they number between 9,000-10,000 and, from recently released photos, seem to have been trained in an organised manner.

(2.) Supported by former Afghan vice president: Amrullah Saleh, who was the first vice president under Ashraf Ghani when the Taliban conquered Kabul, escaped to his birth place Panjshir. He was joined by members of the Afghan National Army (ANA), who did not surrender to fighters of the hardline Islamist movement. They joined hands with Massoud, and are fighting under his leadership.

(3.) Local leaders receiving foreign support: Massoud, who was educated in London, is the son of late Ahmad Shah Massoud, under whose leadership the resistance forces did not allow the Taliban to capture Panjshir during its first rule, from 1996 to 2001. Earlier this year, Ahmad Massoud met French president Emmanuel Macron to seek his support. It is said that many countries are indirectly supporting Massoud’s forces.

Even as the Taliban brought all of Afghanistan under its control with its swift capture of provincial capitals and, finally, Kabul, Panjshir is one province that remained away from its control. Recent days of fighting have only brought uncertainty over the region’s fate, even as the regime prepares to unveil the government of what, the group says, will be known as the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”