Resistance Front Leader Ahmad Massoud In A 'Safe Place' In Afghanistan: Report

According to the Iranian news agency, FARS, rumours about Massoud leaving the Central Asian country for Turkey or any other place are false

Resistance Front leader Ahmad Massoud (File Photo)

While the Taliban has captured the Panjshir valley after an intense battle with the Resistance Front, killing their eminent leaders, the chief of the force-Ahmad Massoud is still in Afghanistan in an undisclosed location.

According to a source of the Iranian news agency FARS, quoted by ANI, the leader of the Afghan resistance forces has not left Afghanistan.

The report says that the source quashed rumours about Massoud leaving the Central Asian country for Turkey or any other place are false. The resistance leader is said to be in a safe place and in contact with the Panjshir Valley.

The source also said that 70 per cent of main streets in Panjshir have been brought under control by the Taliban.

Taliban has claimed that they have captured the Afghan province of Panjshir, the last resistance holdout in the country. Meanwhile, Afghanistan's National Resistance Front (NRF) has denied the claim.

"In recent days, the Taliban entered Panjshir and now 70 per cent of the main streets and passages are under their control, but the valleys of Panjshir are still under the complete control of the popular forces," Qassem Mohammadi told FNA.

After the Taliban claimed that it had captured the entire Panshir valley declaring an end to the war, the NRF said that the resistance forces are present at all strategic positions across the valley to continue the fight.

After the fall of Kabul on August 15, Panjshir province remained the only defiant holdout where resistance forces led by Ahmad Massoud, the son of late former Afghan guerrilla commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, were fighting the Taliban.

Ahmad Massoud on Monday called for a "national uprising" against the Taliban.

In an audio message sent to media, National Resistance Front commander Ahmad Massoud said, "Wherever you are, inside or outside, I call on you to begin a national uprising for the dignity, freedom, and prosperity of our country," Aljazeera reported.

Panjshir has been the stronghold of the National Resistance Front, led by Ahmad Massoud and former Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who declared himself caretaker president.

On Sunday, Massoud said that he was ready to cease fighting and start negotiations if the Taliban abandoned the province but the latter moved forward and killed the leaders of the resistance front declaring victory over Panshir valley.

Reports also suggest that Amrullah Saleh fled the country and is in hiding after as Taliban claimed control over the province.