Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on Monday that the group has “fully captured” Panjshir province, the last stronghold in Afghanistan against the hardline Islamist group, after days of fighting with the resistance forces in the valley near Kabul. After the Taliban claimed they have taken over Panjshir, the anti-Taliban resistance force vowed to carry on fighting.
In a statement, Mujahid, who is also the Taliban’s acting minister of culture and information, said that their efforts for the establishment of nationwide security paid off and the province has been taken by the support of the people, Khaama News reported.
The Associated Press reported citing witnesses that thousands of Taliban fighters overran eight districts of Panjshir overnight. On Sunday, the Taliban tweeted that their forces had overrun Rokha district, one of the largest of eight districts in Panjshir.
“With this victory, our country is completely taken out of the quagmire of war,” Taliban chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement, reported AFP.
The defiant Panjshir province has been witnessing heavy conflicts between the Taliban and resistance forces for the last seven days during which both sides have been inflicted casualties. According to the statement, some of the resistance forces have been killed while others fled the province.
“We assure the people of Panjshir not to be subject to discriminatory behavior, they are our brothers and will jointly work for the development of Afghanistan,” Khaama News quoted Mujahid as further saying in the statement.
On Sunday, resistance front leader Ahmad Massoud said he welcomed proposals from religious scholars for a negotiated settlement to end the fighting. Earlier, Ahmad Masoud had offered negotiations with the Taliban, which were refused by the latter.
During Sunday night’s conflict in Panjshir, a key commander of the resistance forces General Abdul Wodod, and spokesperson of the forces Fahim Dashti were killed.