New Delhi: With Taliban leaders claiming control over Panjshir valley, the last province of Afghanistan holding out against it, former vice president Amrullah Saleh in a recorded video refuted the reports of him fleeing the valley and said that his side had not given up.
Referring to the reports of his disappearance as baseless, Saleh said the forces are resisting. In his official Twitter account, he said, “The Resistance is continuing and will continue. I am here with my soil, for my soil & defending its dignity.”
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The former leader, who had sent the recorded video to BBCWorld, can be seen allaying the fear of being under attack from terrorists and pointed the finger of blame at Pakistan, according to a tweet. He added that Pakistan, of course, had denied supporting Taliban forces.
The leader of the resistance forces claimed that the Taliban have cut phone lines and shut electricity in the valley, tweeted Amurllah Saleh.
He alleged that the Taliban are not even allowing medical access and using military-age men of Panjshir as a mine-clearing tool.
Saleh further said, "Over the past 23 years since start of the Emergency Hospital we never blocked Talib access to it. Talibs are committing war crimes & have zero respect for IHL. We call on UN & world leaders to take notice of this clear criminal & terrorist behavior of the Talibs."
Meanwhile, former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai expressed his concerns over the clashes between Panjshir resistance forces and the Taliban. Karzai urged the two parties to come to a resolution through dialogue.
"Former president Hamid Karzai in a statement asked the Taliban and the "resistance front" in Panjshir to stop the fighting and resolve their issues through talks," tweeted Tolo News, as per ANI.
The Panjshir takeover comes at a time when the Taliban is all set to form a government in Afghanistan. Several other resistance leaders also dismissed reports of the fall of Panjshir, where thousands of fighters from regional militias and remnants of the old government's forces had massed.