Anti-Taliban Resistance Forces: "Taliban Must Form Inclusive Government... Will Engage in Combat if Dialogue Refused"

Taliban Announces "Deployment of Troops to Panjshir"
Resistance Forces Instead Occupy 3 Districts in Baghlan Province

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Ahmad Masood, the leader of the anti-Taliban resistance forces in Afghanistan, demanded that the Taliban engage in talks to form an inclusive government and announced that if refused, he would not hesitate to go to war. The Taliban announced an attack on the resistance stronghold of Panjshir Province, but there have been no signs of troop movements. On the contrary, the resistance forces reportedly launched a counterattack and occupied three areas in Baghlan Province adjacent to Panjshir, raising prospects of a prolonged Afghan civil war.

On the 22nd (local time), Masood said in an interview with Saudi Arabia's state-owned Al Arabiya broadcast, "The Taliban must form an inclusive government, and if they refuse talks for this, war cannot be avoided," adding, "We fought against the Soviet Union and can resist the Taliban sufficiently." Masood is known as the son of Ahmad Shah Masood, a national hero during the Soviet-Afghan war, and is recognized as a highly respected warlord leader within Afghanistan.

According to The New York Times (NYT), Amrullah Saleh, the First Vice President of Afghanistan who is leading the interim government in Panjshir alongside Masood, emphasized in a message that "the anti-Taliban armed forces are under a unified command system" and "Afghanistan is alive and has not yet become Talibanstan."

The Taliban claimed to have dispatched troops to Panjshir in response, but no signs of troop movements have been reported. According to the Associated Press (AP), the Taliban stated in a press release that "hundreds of troops have been sent to the Panjshir Valley and will soon suppress the resistance." However, AP reported that there were no signs of troop movements on roads connecting to the Panjshir Valley.

Instead, resistance forces reportedly engaged in battles with Taliban troops in the Baghlan Province area adjacent to Panjshir, occupying three districts: Puleh-e Hesar, Dih Salah, and Bano. According to Al Jazeera, remaining Afghan government forces regrouped and fought a battle killing 30 Taliban militants and capturing 12, reclaiming the three districts in Baghlan Province. Despite the Taliban's formidable power, having captured the capital Kabul and acquired U.S. military weapons, the anti-Taliban resistance is concentrated around Panjshir, while Taliban forces are dispersed across Afghanistan, leading to expectations of a prolonged civil war.

The Taliban are continuing negotiations with various warlords and Afghan government officials to form a new government rather than engaging in armed conflict. According to Russia's TASS news agency, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's second-in-command, is holding talks with warlords from across Afghanistan in Kabul, and through mediation by some warlords, negotiations with the Afghan government side are also ongoing.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.