'Will continue fighting,' says resistance force in Afghanistan's Panjshir as negotiation talks with Taliban fail

The resistance force in Afghanistan's northeastern province Pajnshir said that they will continue fighting against the Taliban as the negotiations between them and the insurgents failed to yield any results, news agency ANI reported citing local media reports. Panjshir is the only province, where the anti-Taliban forces have maintained a stronghold and which is out of the Taliban's reach following their blitz across Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, the Taliban, who have negotiated with the leaders of the resistance force, said that the talks the group’s efforts to find a political solution to a dispute "went in vain" and led to no results.

In an audio message on Wednesday, Amir Khan Motaqi, the head of Taliban’s commission for guidance & encouragement, also urged Panjshir residents to join the Islamic Emirate and promised that it will be a home for all Afghans. "We still want to prevent war and find a political solution," Motaqi said in the message posted on social media.

The Panjshir valley lies in the Hindu Kush mountains, approximately 90 miles north of the capital city of Kabul, which fall into Taliban control on August 15 after the collapse of the Afghan government. The Taliban have been unable to take this major holdout of resistance after steamrolling across pro-government troops in a matter of months.

The resistance in Panjshir is being led by Ahmad Massoud, son of famous Afghan commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, and Amrullah Saleh who is a current acting president of the South Asian nation. Presently they are all in Panjshir valley and trying to mount a challenge to the Taliban.

Meanwhile, the last remaining troops of the United States have left the country, ending the two-decades-old war in Afghanistan.