‘Panjshir stands strong’: Afghanistan’s last holdout against the Taliban

"Panjshir valley, north of Kabul in the Hindu Kush, was a resistance stronghold for decades, first against the Soviets in the 1980s, then against the Taliban in the 1990s. It is still dotted with rusting tanks from the fights of those decades.

The vice-president, Amrullah Saleh, who was born and trained to fight there, vowed it will reprise that role, after he declared himself “caretaker” head of state under the constitution the Taliban effectively seemed to have swept aside.

There are many in Afghanistan who hate their new rulers, and the history of the last 20 years serves as a potent reminder that the Taliban should not consider themselves entirely secure just because they now control most of it."

"Afghanistan’s ambassador to Tajikistan, Lt Gen Zahir Aghbar, a former senior security official before becoming an envoy, promised Panjshir would form a base for those who wanted to fight on. “Panjshir stands strong against anyone who wants to enslave people,” he said.

“I cannot say that the Taliban have won the war. No, it was just Dr Ashraf Ghani who gave up power after treacherous talks with the Taliban,” he told Reuters in an interview."