“In war, truth is the first victim.”
Aeschylus’ quote, we would say, fits like a glove in the majority of warfare and fits also to the situation that has been developing over since yesterday in Afghanistan, with the battles of the Northern Alliance and the Taliban having reached their peak and each side presenting developments in a different way.
The Panjshir Valley, north of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, is one of Afghanistan’s smallest provinces and the only one that has not completely fallen to the Taliban. About 150,000 to 200,000 people live in this province, which is hidden behind mountain peaks.
Ali Nazari, the spokesman of the National Resistance Front (NRF) fighters, told BBC World News that “Northern Alliance” forces pushed back the Taliban saying that:
“There are over a few hundred Taliban who are trapped, they’re running out of ammunition and negotiating terms of surrender.”
The Taliban, on the other hand, say all that remains is the battle for the capital of the province which they want to take “peacefully like Kabul”. The Taliban’s advance into the province at the moment appears to have been confirmed as videos from local sources show villages and streets of the province under Taliban control.
But what is the actual situation?
According to the difficult research we have done GEOPOLITIKI.COM, we have concluded with all reservations as we are talking about an ongoing conflict that:
- The Taliban have succeeded in the rapid occupation of the biggest part of the province
- The Northern Alliance has been reduced to a smaller area and is trying to defend itself on the mountaintops until some kind of agreement is reached with the Taliban.
- The total occupation of Panjshir has not been achieved yet, despite the announcements from Kabul.
In addition to all this, a new development leaves spikes in the question of who is behind the armament and training of the Taliban over the years, as during the day the leader of the Pakistani secret agency (ISI) landed in Kabul.
According to the latest information, ISI chief Major General Faiz Hamid arrived in Kabul this morning together with a military delegation of senior Pakistani officials at the invitation of the Taliban.
