Panjshir in focus as Afghan Resistance prepares for long-term conflict

A resistance movement led by former Afghan government forces is preparing for “long-term conflict” with the Taliban, according to an AFP report.

While the National Resistance Front’s main goal is to avoid more bloodshed in Afghanistan , the group is also prepared for conflict, spokesman Ali Maisam Nazary told the AFP.

Thousands of people made their way to Panjshir to both join the fight and find a safe haven to continue their lives after the Taliban took over.

Around 9,000 people have been assembled as a fighting force in Panjshir by Ahmad Massoud, the son of legendary Mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud who was assassinated by Al-Qaeda two days before the September 11, 2001 attacks.

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Latest AFP pictures during training exercises reveal dozens of recruits performing fitness routines, and a handful of armoured humvees driving across the valley northeast of Kabul.

While the Taliban control the vast majority of Afghanistan, reports suggest local militias in some districts have already begun resisting their hardline rule and have formed links with Massoud’s NRF.

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Panjshir, ‘a safe zone’

Adding to Massoud’s fighting force, Panjshir now hosts more than 1,000 displaced people from across Afghanistan, including intellectuals, women’s and human rights activists, and politicians.

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Following Massoud’s appeal for weapons from the United States in an op-ed published in the Washington Post on Thursday,  the NRF has now also expressed its need for humanitarian assistance to feed and take care of the newly arrived.

The NRF sees Panjshir as a beacon of hope against the Taliban.

Meanwhile, The Hamid Karzai International Airport of Kabul has become home to over 18,00 people, present all the time, making desperate attempts to escape the country that is uncertain of the future to come.

The Kabul airport has become the epicenter of chaos since last week. According to CNN, the number of people at the airport awaiting flights had swelled to 18,500 on Sunday morning, with another 2,000 at the gates waiting to get in.