DNA Special: Lions of Panjshir to save Afghanistan from Taliban?

At present, the Northern Alliance in Panjshir, 150 km from Kabul, remains a major challenge for the Taliban. We have come across many such videos in which thousands of Talibanis are seen going towards Panjshir. The Taliban has issued a statement saying that it has not yet attacked the fighters of the Northern Alliance because it wants to resolve the matter through talks. Imagine, Talibanis who talk about guns and bullets are resorting to talks to take control of Panjshir.

There are three big leaders of the Northern Alliance. The first is Amrullah Saleh, who was the Vice President in the Ashraf Ghani government. The second is Ahmed Masood and the third is Abdul Rashid Dostum, who was the Vice President of Afghanistan from 2014 to 2020. These three leaders are fighting against the Taliban from Panjshir in northern Afghanistan.

Panjshir is a Persian language word, which means Five Lions. This area is in northern Afghanistan and there is only one way to reach Panjshir valley and that way passes through the Panjshir river.

This road is so bumpy and narrow that it is not easy for the Taliban to reach the high peaks from here. Secondly, even 10-year-old children are ready for war against the Taliban in this area and the Taliban knows very well that they cannot win Panjshir with weapons here. That's why talks are the only option it has with him. A Tajik Commander is leading the 3,000 fighters that the Taliban have sent to Panjshir. Most of the people in Panjshir are from this Ethnic Group.

Earlier, Afghanistan had no border, so the people of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were spread to Afghanistan. After the border was marked, these people became citizens of Afghanistan and in this way, they also became Ethnic Groups. Amrullah Saleh and Ahmed Masood also come from the Tajik community. And the people of this community are anti-Taliban.

In the 1970s and 1980s, when Afghanistan was ruled by a government-backed by the Soviet Union, Panjshir was free. Even in the first Taliban government, its terrorists could never capture Panjshir. America has never been able to capture this area. And this time also, its chances are very less. Perhaps, this is the reason why Amarullah Saleh was seen playing volleyball with his fighters at a place in the Panjshir Valley. As the Taliban are standing on the border of Panjshir, these pictures of Amrullah Saleh show that it will not be easy for the Taliban to rule Afghanistan.

Amalrullah Saleh is also getting the support of Ahmed Masood, who is the son of Ahmed Shah Masood. Between 1996 and 2001, Aham Shah Masood had led the Northern Alliance by staying in Panjshir. At that time, there were two governments in Afghanistan, one of the radical Taliban, which was recognized by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and the second government was formed in Panjshir with the support of the United Nations, in which Ahmed Shah Masood was the Defence Minister. At that time, India also gave its support to this government. But two days before the 9/11 attacks in the US in 2001, the Taliban killed Ahmed Shah Massoud in a suicide attack with the help of Al Qaeda. Today, his sons are fighting this battle.