The Panjshir Valley “is a natural fortress … no government – foreign or Afghan – has ever taken and held it by force. Panjshiri leaders have always made it clear … the valley is part of Afghanistan on its own terms.”
There’s only one road in or out, and it’s a chokepoint. See photo. Imagine using that as an invasion route. Doesn’t work.
This isolated valley was the stomping grounds of legendary mujahedin leader Shah Ahmad Masud (photo, left), a charismatic leader and one of history’s great military commanders, who was assassinated by Al Qaeda just before the September 11 terror attacks. The Soviets attempted nine major offensives against him there; none were successful.
Masud and his followers were Tajiks; the Taliban are Pashtuns. There’s no love lost between those two ethnic groups. And the valley’s inhabitants aren’t Taliban sympathizers; far from it. Masud’s son is taking command of an anti-Taliban resistance and promising to “uphold what is left of the Afghan constitution.” He is joined by Amrullah Saleh, who was vice president of the deposed Afghan government, and now declares himself its president.
“The Taliban have not attempted to take it, and [sources] familiar with the Panjshiri leadership’s plans said locals are not worried about any possible incursion. ‘All they [the Taliban] can do is watch,’ they said.”
They’re able to negotiate with the Taliban from a position of strength. A former Afghan government official says “the Panjshiris can continue to hold the valley indefinitely” and “any Taliban effort to overcome them is likely to result in a demoralising slaughter.”
Will there now be two Afghanistans, and an in-country refuge for those opposed to Taliban rule? More likely, the Panjshiris won’t welcome a flood of outsiders, but will maintain their independence. Read story here.
Related stories:
The Taliban claim to have surrounded the valley. Read story here.
Panjshiris appeal to the U.S. for weapons and support. Read story here.
Retired U.S. Gen. David Petraeus thinks the Taliban’s takeover eventually “will fall apart.” Watch video here.
Will the Taliban let terrorists operate from Afghanistan again? Experts disagree among themselves. Read up on that subject here.
