According to FARS news agency based out of Iran, Tajik commander Ahmad Massoud, son of the legendary Ahmad Shah Massoud, has not left Afghanistan and is still fighting the Taliban in Panjshir valley. “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, a source close to Massoud, told the agency.
Earlier, the ousted Afghan government's ambassador to Tajikistan stated that the resistance forces are still fighting the Taliban in Panjshir. "Ahmad Massoud and Amrullah Saleh have not fled to Tajikistan. The news that Ahmad Massoud has left Panjshir is not true; he is inside Afghanistan," Zahir Aghbar said. "I am in constant contact with Amrullah Saleh, who is currently in Panjshir and running the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's government," he said.
Earlier, there were claims that Panjshiri leader Ahmad Shah Massoud and former Afghan vice president Amrullah Saleh have fled Afghanistan amid the onslaught of the Taliban. Both their whereabouts are currently unknown.
The Taliban had seized the last province not in their control, after their blitz through Afghanistan last month, overrunning forces who had opposed their takeover. Thousands of Taliban fighters charged into eight districts of Panjshir province overnight, with Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirming that the province, which is north of the capital, was now held by their fighters.
The resisting forces were led by Saleh and Massoud, the son of the iconic anti-Taliban fighter Ahmad Shah Massoud. Experts had doubted that the holdout efforts could succeed long-term against the Taliban, whose rapid advance through Afghanistan met little resistance in the final days of America's 20-year war in the country.
In the latest communique, Massoud had accused the Taliban of attacking even as they were ready to agree to a ceasefire. He vowed to fight on, urging Afghans to join in their battle against the Taliban and chastising the international community for giving the Taliban a platform by opening negotiations with them.