'In Control': Amrullah Saleh Confident of Retaining Anti-Taliban Bastion Panjshir as Insurgents Close in

In an exclusive interview to CNN-News18, Afghanistan’s ‘acting’ President Amrullah Saleh highlighted the security situation in the Panjshir valley, where the anti-Taliban forces are amassing and the Taliban find themselves struggling to quell the resistance.

“It’s perfect. We are in control of the situation. I move around with minimum security. It’s an area which has an exceptional reputation,” Amrullah Saleh told CNN-news18.

Ten days ago, the Taliban marched on Kabul and seized the city in a single bloodless day, forcing Afghan president Ashraf Ghani to flee the capital city and the civilians to look for safer havens. While UAE granted asylum to Ghani, Amrullah Saleh declared himself ‘caretaker’ president of Afghanistan and has joined hands with the Panjshir resistance movement against the Taliban.

Vice-president Saleh, who was born and trained to fight there has vowed it will reprise that role after he declared himself caretaker head of state.

Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul in the Hindu Kush, has been a resistance stronghold for decades. First, it stood against the Soviets in the 1980s, then against the Taliban in the 1990s. It is still dotted with rusting tanks from the fights of those decades. Nearly 9,000 fighters- including members of local militias, personnel of the disbanded Afghan defence forces are following Ahmad Massoud and Amrullah Saleh at their base in the Panjshir valley in the fight against the Taliban.

Meanwhile, when the resistance forces have been stalled amid probes by Taliban fighters, reports said its spokesman’s call for peace was being followed up with a delegation that will meet Ahmad Massoud- one of the two resistance leaders. Taliban forces tried to enter Panjshir Valley through a pass from the adjoining Badakhshan province but were unable to do so.

Ahmad Massoud has said its forces have adequate stores of ammunition and arms to withstand a Taliban assault. The

Panjshir Valley is surrounded by Badakhshan, Takhar, and Baghlan provinces, which are under Taliban control.

Also Read: Panjshir’s Landscape That Nestled Resistance May Choke, Experts Predict Taliban’s Edge Over Amrullah Saleh

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