Fresh fighting in Panjshir as Taliban set to form new government

Kabul, Sep 04: Fresh fighting was reported on Saturday between the Taliban and resistance forces in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley, even as the hardliners are set to form new government soon.

The Taliban has claimed to taken over Panjshir, the last province that was held on to by the National Resistance Force of Afghanistan. There was heavy celebratory fire in Kabul after reports said that the Taliban defeated the NRFA.

On Taliban commander quoted by Reuters said, " by the grace of Allah Almighty, we are in control of the entire Afghanistan. The troublemakers have been defeated and Panjshir is now under our command.

Ahmad Massoud: 'We will never give up'

"We will never give up the fight for God, freedom and justice," Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, wrote on Facebook.

"The fight, like Panjshir, who has stood strong until now and ... shows that people have not given up on their demands and fight for the truth," he added.

"Our people will never get tired of trusting God and will move forward to building a prosperous, free and independent Afghanistan."

The Taliban have postponed the formation of a new government in Afghanistan for next week, their spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on Saturday, as the insurgent group struggles to give shape to a broad-based and inclusive administration acceptable to the international community.

This is the second time that the Taliban have delayed the formation of the new government in Kabul since their toppling of the US-backed Afghanistan government. The insurgent group was expected to announce the formation of the new government led by its co-founder Mulla Abdul Ghani Baradar on Friday, but later postponed it by a day to Saturday.