Panjshir province, the area controlled by resistance forces led by Ahmad Massoud, was bombed by Pakistani Air Force drones to help the Taliban, Pakistan media reported on Sunday. Former lawmaker from Afghanistan’s Samangan province , Zia Arianjad, was quoted as saying by Aamaj News that Pakistan drones bombed Panjshir using smart bombs.

This coincided with Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed arriving in Kabul amid differences in the Taliban ranks over the formation of the government in Afghanistan.

Also Read | Final frontier: Panjshir resistance seeks negotiated settlement with Taliban

Panjshir is one of the few areas holding out against the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. The two fought pitched battle for the control of the region on Sunday with Taliban claiming that they had seized control. Resistance forces, however, said that they still had control of the approach road to the region while offering a negotiated settlement.

The National Resistance Front confirmed on Sunday that its main spokesperson, Fahim Dashti, had been killed. He was one of the main sources of information from the area and had issued a defiant series of statements on Twitter, vowing that resistance to the Taliban would continue.

Also read: Panjshir resistance seeks negotiated settlement with Taliban

The Facebook page of the National Resistance Front also posted a statement saying, “With deep touch and regret, we lost two dear brothers and colleagues and fighters today. Fahim Dashty, the head of the office of Amir Saheb Ahmad Masoud, and General Sahib Abdul Wadood Zhor, the nephew of the national hero of Afghanistan in the battle against the fascist group. Congratulations on your martyrdom!”

Why Panjshir is important for the Taliban

The conquest of Panjshir Valley will be a stamp of authority of the Taliban’s  dominance. It will mean complete control of the country by the militant fighters, who took control of the country after the US forces left the country after two decades.

The Panjshir Valley is famed for successfully resisting the Soviet forces in the 1980s and the Taliban in the 1990s. Led by Ahmad Shah Massoud, the resistance forces held onto their area of dominance even then.