While the Panjshir Valley is emerging as Afghanistan's last remaining holdout where anti-Taliban forces seem to be working on forming a guerrilla movement to take on the Islamic fundamentalist group, Pul-e-Hesar, Deh Salah and Banu districts in Baghlan have claimed to have recaptured their land from the Taliban.
Local residents claim that Pul-e-Hesar, Deh Salah and Qasaan districts have also been recaptured from the Taliban, Afghanistan's Khaama Press said on Friday.
Taking to Twitter, former acting minister of defence Bismillah Muhammadi said, "Resisting the Taliban terrorists is our duty # Pul-e-Hesar, Deh Salah and Banu districts in Baghlan have been occupied by the resistance forces. Resistance is still alive."
Local residents claim to have killed nearly 40 Talibani terrorists and wounded at least 15. However, the Taliban have not commented on the incident yet. The Taliban claimed to have been in talks with the local Afghan leaders in an attempt to form the government and fill the power vacuum.
Panjshir Resistance
Meanwhile, a Taliban resistance is forming in Panjshir Valley under the leadership of Vice President Amrullah Saleh and Ahmad Massoud, the son of a famed anti-Taliban fighter, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
"The Taliban doesn't control the whole territory of Afghanistan," Lavrov told reporters at a press conference in Moscow following a meeting with his Libyan counterpart. "There are reports of the situation in the Panjshir Valley where the resistance of Afghanistan's Vice President Saleh and Ahmad Massoud is concentrated," he said, TRT World reported.
The Panjshir Valley in the northeast of Kabul is known for its natural defences. The region, located 150 km northeast of Kabul, now hosts some senior members of the ousted Afghanistan government, including the deposed Saleh and ex-Defence Minister Bismillah Mohammadi, DW reported.
Saleh as Caretake President
Saleh has declared himself the caretaker President of Afghanistan after ousted President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
"I will never, ever and under no circumstances bow to the Taliban terrorists. I will never betray the soul and legacy of my hero Ahmad Shah Masoud, the commander, the legend and the guide," Saleh wrote on Twitter.
From this pocket of resistance, the two men are calling for retaliation against the Taliban.
The Panjshir Valley has repeatedly played a decisive role in Afghanistan's military history, as its geographical position almost completely cuts it off from the rest of the country. The only access point to the region is through a narrow passage created by the Panjshir River, which can be easily defended militarily.
Massoud's militia
Famed for its natural defences, the region tucked into the Hindu Kush mountains never fell to the Taliban during the civil war of the 1990s, nor was it conquered by the Soviets a decade earlier. It is now Afghanistan's last remaining holdout, DW reported.
Most of the valley's up to 150,000 inhabitants belong to the Tajik ethnic group, while the majority of the Taliban are Pashtuns. The valley is also known for its emeralds, which were used in the past to finance the resistance movements against those in power.
Now, the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, Ahmad Massoud, who closely resembles his father in appearance, commands a militia in the valley.
