Leader of Afghan resistance group calls for an uprising against Taliban

Ahmad Massoud, leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA), an anti-Taliban resistance group, has called for a general uprising against the Taliban.

Mr. Massoud’s call is contained in an audio message released by the group on Monday.

“Our compatriots, wherever you are, whether outside or inside, we call on you to start a general uprising for the sake of the honor, freedom, and pride of our homeland,” he said.

“Everyone can stand up in any way they can and shout loud – we will never accept humiliation!” Mr. Massoud added.

Pledging that his group would stand with the people until the last moment, Mr. Massoud urged them to fight via armed struggle or by conducting protests.

He did not comment on claims by the Taliban to have captured Panjshir, the province his fighters were defending.

The Taliban claimed victory on Monday over opposition forces in the Panjshir valley northeast of Kabul, declaring that it completed the Islamist group’s takeover of Afghanistan and promising to announce a new government soon.

Pictures on social media showed Taliban members standing in front of the gate of the Panjshir provincial governor’s compound after fighting over the weekend with the NRFA, led by Massoud.

“Panjshir, which was the last hideout of the escapee enemy, is captured,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference.

Earlier, he had said, “with this victory and latest efforts our country has come out of the whirlpool of the war, and our people will have a happy life in peace, liberty, and freedom.”

The Taliban assured the people of Panjshir, who are ethnically distinct from the Pashtun-dominated Taliban and fought against the Islamists during their rule from 1996 to 2001, that there would be no “discriminatory act against them”.