Anti-Taliban fighters asks US, others for weapons as battle of Panjshir Valley gathers momentum

The pullout of the US and its coalition from Afghnistan may eventually result in a civil war as militia groups are gearing up to resist the Taliban that swept out the US-backed Afghan military.

An anti-Taliban group in Panjshir region, north of Afgahnistan, known for resisting Russia in the 80s have vowed the Taliban won’t take over their region.

The Panjshir valley and wider Panjshir region resisted the Taliban in the 1990s, too.

In an interview with BBC, Ali Nazary, head of foreign relations for National Resistance Force, said the group is ready for battle.

Former V.P Amarullah Saleh, who refused to surrender to the Taliban, has been building his resistance base from Panjshir. Even some of the area the Taliban over-ran recently have been reclaimed.

Videos of Afghan soldiers moving to the valley to join the resistance were uploaded online last week

The former vice president who claims to be Afghanistan’s “caretaker president,” has been building up a resistance against the Taliban in the Panjshir valley.

“We prefer peace, we prioritise peace and negotiations,” Nazary, added. “If this fails—if we see that the other side is not sincere, if we see that the other side is trying to force itself on the rest of the country—then we’re not going to accept any sort of aggression.”

NRF leader Ahmad Massoud, 32, wrote a column in the Washington Post on August 18 appealing for help from the West.

But te Taliban too have stated they want peace, and have sent emissaries to NRF for negotiations.