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Image source, Getty Images
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Ahmad Massoud, the son of Mujahideen guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud founded the NRF.
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“I am writing from the Panjshir Valley today, and ready to follow in my father’s footsteps, with the Mujahideen fighters and ready to face the Taliban again.”
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“We have a stockpile of ammunition and weapons that we have patiently accumulated since my father’s days because we knew this day would come.”
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Statement published last Thursday (19/08) in The Washington Post, confirmed rumors that Taliban resistance forces were re -formed in the Panjshir Valley, just about 113 kilometers north of Kabul.
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The words were written by Ahmad Massoud, the son of legendary Mujahideen leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, who led the liberation forces from Panjshir and was successful in facing the Soviets and then the Taliban.
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Ahmad Massoud founded a resistance group called the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF).
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News of the rise of anti-Taliban resistance forces came after the Taliban took control of the capital Kabul with photos of Humvee tanks bearing the Afghan flag.
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Meanwhile, the Taliban themselves say they have cordoned off the valley area.
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Resistance figures also say the Taliban are advancing and they have thousands of people ready to fight.
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Ali Nazary, head of foreign relations of the NRF resistance front group, told the BBC they wanted peace talks.
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Image source, Getty Images
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The warriors in the Panjshir Valley defended the territory. Photo taken on August 19, 2021.
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But he added, “if this fails…then we will not accept any form of aggression.”
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What is the history of this match team?
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The area survived Soviet occupation in the 1980s as well as the Taliban in the 1990s (1996-2001), and became a stronghold for opponents of the militia group.
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“In the contemporary history of Afghanistan, Panjshir has never been conquered, by foreign forces as well as by the Taliban,” says the BBC’s correspondent for Afghanistan, Mariam Aman.
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“In the last two decades, this area is considered the most peaceful province in Afghanistan and also a resistance area for many Afghans,” Aman told BBC Mundo.
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Currently, only the Panjshir Valley, of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, has not yet fallen to the hands of the Taliban.
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The head of Panjshir’s Economic Department, Abdul Rahmad, said this week, “We are ready to face the Taliban for the second time.”
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His message is in line with vice president Amirullah Saleh who is in the Panjshir Valley. In his teasing he wrote, “I will never betray the soul and legacy of my hero Ahmad Shah Massoud.”
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Amirullah describes himself as the “legitimate interim president in the absence of President-elect Ashraf Ghani who fled Afghanistan and lives in exile.”
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Saleh, the former head of Afghanistan’s secret service, called on people to join insurgent groups in the valley.
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The message goes out to the majority of the Afghan people, Mariam Aman said.
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Saleh is believed to have been in Panjshir with Ahmad Massoud’s son known as the “Lion of Panjshir”, the warlord who led the anti-Taliban forces.
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BBC reporter Yalda Hakim in his joke wrote, “just three hours from Kabul, Vice President @AmrullahSaleh2 and anti -Taliban fighters are playing volleyball – Panjshir Valley, August 2021.”
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But what is the key that the Panjshir Valley can survive and has never been subdued by the Taliban so far?
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Image source, Getty Images
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The wreckage of a Russian tank held by Mujahideen during the Afghanistan-Soviet war in 1979-1989.
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Natural fortress
The Panjshir ravines and cliffs are natural fortifications, and access to the rugged mountains is very difficult.
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Crossed by the Panjshir River, this valley is very close to the Hindu Kush mountains that run between Afghanistan and the northwestern part of Pakistan.
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This route was important to the armies of Alexander the Great and Tamerlane or Tamburlaine the Great, the great nomadic conquerors of Central Asia.
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This area also has natural resources such as emerald mines, hydroelectric dams, and wind power.
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The United States is more concerned with building infrastructure such as roads and radio transmission towers to receive signals from the capital Kabul.
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However, these enclaves are economically less vital.
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Image source, Getty Images
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The Mujahideen led by Ahmad Shah Massoud in 1990.
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“This area is very suitable for guerrilla warfare, but not strategic, not so close to important ports. There is no industry so there is no contribution to the country’s gross domestic product,” said Afghan journalist Haroon Shafiqi of the BBC World Service.
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“The most important thing is that this area has a highway. The closest is Salang Pass [Lintas Salang],” kata Shafiqi.
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“In 1997, the Taliban cut off all routes to Panjshir and everyone living there was short of food,” Shafiqi added.
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However, the resistance in this valley continued.
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The region’s current population is between 150,000 and 200,000, mostly ethnic Tajikistan, or about a quarter of the 38 million people living in Afghanistan.
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Historically, the people there have been anti-Taliban.
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Image source, Getty Images
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Mujahideen forces in the Panjshir Valley.
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“Match symbol”
The main figure of the anti-Talliban struggle in Panjshir history was Ahmad Shah Massoud, a Mujahideen guerrilla killed by Al-Qaeda, two days before the September 11, 2001 attacks. He led the struggle for autonomy in the region in the 1980s and 1990s.
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Nicknamed the “Lion of Panjshir” (Panjshir means five lions), his photos can be found in many places in the Afghan capital, from monuments, billboards and posters in shop windows, as well as throughout Panjshir Province.
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“Panjshir was used as Ahmad Shah Massoud’s defensive stronghold during the Afghanistan-Soviet war [pada tahun 1980an],” said the BBC’s Aman.
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“The valley became a symbol of resistance then and also later in the wars of various Mujahideen and Taliban factions, from the mid-1990s to 2001. [ketika kekuasaan Taliban berakhir].”
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The BBC Afghanistan correspondent said “since Massoud’s death in 2001, the area has remained the headquarters of the Afghan people in the face of the Taliban.”
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Image source, Getty Images
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Residents mourn the death of Ahmad Shah Masood. This photo was taken at his funeral on September 16, 2001.
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Ahmad Shah Massoud was a warlord respected by many Afghans.
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He was designated a national hero by President Hamid Karzai and since 2012, every September 9, the day of his death is celebrated as the day of the martyrs and Ahmad Shah Massood’s day.
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Vice President Amirullah Saleh, who is from Panjshir and ethnic Tajikistan, was part of the Northern Allies, warlords who were at the forefront of dealing with the Taliban in the 1990s.
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There are also voices that say the Mujahideen are war criminals.
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According to a 2005 Human Rights Watch investigation, “Ahamd Shah Massood is said to have been involved in numerous violations” committed by military forces under his command during the war in Afghanistan.
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Image source, Getty Images
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Ahmad Massoud’s billboard showing his popularity.
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“We know today is coming”
However, one who was relieved that the valley was used for resistance was the son of the guerrilla leader himself, Ahmad Massoud, who is now 32 years old.
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Vice President Saleh is seen posing for a photo with Massoud on Monday, August 16. Various photos spread on social media show they are ready to work together.
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In the opinion column published Thursday (19/08) at The Washington PostThe son of the “Lion of Panjshir” said his fighters had military support from the Afghan army as well as special forces who had “ammunition and weapons” in stock which they had patiently kept since his father’s time because they knew “this day will come” (the day the Taliban will return). power).
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Image source, Getty Images
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Afghan troops patrol the Panjshir Valley on August 17, 2021.
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But he asked for help.
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“The Mujahideen’s resistance against the Taliban is starting now, but we need help,” Massoud wrote.
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“When the Taliban warlords launch an attack, they will certainly face fierce opposition from us […] But we know our military forces and logistics will not be enough. Our supplies will run out quickly unless they our friends in the West can find a way to supply us without delay.”
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