Rebels taking refuge in mountains; Tajiks urge Pakistan PM’s boycott

Tribune News Service

new delhi, september 11

On the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the Taliban removed the tricolour Afghan flag and replaced it with its white flag at the Afghan Presidential Palace, but the banner of defiance in the Panjshir valley remained aloft.

The Taliban corroborated claims by the rebels that the resistance in the Panjshir valley had not been crushed and that its fighters had taken refuge in caves and mountain hideouts. The Taliban’s military offensive against the Panjshiris after just three hours of talks, along with rumours of Pakistan’s involvement, has further incensed the neighbouring Tajikistan.

A large number of civil society activists have petitioned the Tajikistan Government to bar Pakistan PM Imran Khan from attending a summit of regional countries next week. Human rights activist Oynihol Bobonazarova and filmmaker Anisa Sabiri were among the signatories who sought a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) probe into Pakistan’s involvement in crushing the resistance in Panjshir.

The strong sentiments in Tajikistan towards a Pashtun dominated takeover of Kabul were explicitly flagged by Tajik President President Emomali Rahmon at a meeting with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. The Tajik civil society did not want the Pakistan PM to visit Dushanbe till he “refuses to interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs” and an inclusive government was created in Kabul.

Though the Taliban have claimed to have captured all the districts of the Panjshir valley, the National Resistance Front (NRF) said, “The mujahideen, the resistance forces and your sons will fight to death to defend your values and honour.”

“Right now, resistance forces are present in all mountains,” local media quoted Panjshiri politician Abdul Latif Pedram as saying. The resistance is being led by Ahmad Masood and Amrullah Saleh.