It was here, in this lush strip of land, protected from potential invaders by high mountain peaks and narrow, ambush-prone passes, that former mujahedeen fighters and Afghan commandos regrouped days after the Taliban overthrew the Afghan government, vowing to fight until the last man stood in their way of victory.
The Taliban, on the other hand, claimed to have taken over the whole province of Panjshir by September 6. This is a major win in a region that resisted several Soviet assaults throughout the 1980s and stayed beyond the authority of the Taliban during their rule from 1996 to 2001.
The New York Times went to the valley for the first time on Tuesday, after the Taliban’s lightning strike that resulted in the Taliban’s loss of control over Afghanistan earlier in the year. The poster of the Resistance Fighter, who had fallen victim to the last conflict, was destroyed by the side of the road. Every now and again, the constant flow of traffic was replaced by stray cows, and the stillness was broken only by the odd Islamic chant emanating from the speakers of numerous Taliban vehicles.
However, when he drove 40 kilometres between the state’s capital city of Bazarac, he realised that, at least for the time being, the combat was almost finished and that the remaining opposition was confined to hilly regions that were inaccessible by foot or vehicle. I was there. The majority of the residents left before the fighting began. Those that arrived late were subjected to rising market prices and a scarcity of supplies.
Social media was ablaze with reports of the Taliban perpetrating human rights violations against captured resistance members and civilians throughout those tense weeks of battle, and even after the fighting had ended. Nonetheless, the Taliban’s denial of individual search and seizure, as well as allegations of public executions, were unable to be confirmed or denounced by the international community.
Electricity and mobile phone towers were turned down, resulting in a vacuum of information that was soon filled with opposition tales, massacre, ethnic cleansing, and false accusation accusations, among other things. A widely circulated video purporting to show Pakistani drones flying over valleys was later shown to be computer game graphics instead. The Taliban captured another video showing a large sum of money and a piece of gold that they allegedly discovered in a home that was thought to be held by former Afghan Vice President Amurula Surrey. Some Taliban leaders have disputed the storey, while others have said that it is accurate.
In an interview, Patricia Gossman, associate director of Human Rights Watch Asia, said that her group is investigating a number of claims of crimes, but that they are unable to corroborate them. According to Gossman, there is a lot of unverified material floating about on social media, but what is important is that summary executions and other accusations of mistreatment be thoroughly examined.
The Panjshir Valley was virtually deserted when Basir Abdul came home earlier this week after living in Germany for 40 years and exporting automobiles to Afghanistan and the Middle East. Basir Abdul had lived in Germany for 40 years and sold vehicles to Afghanistan and the Middle East.
