New Delhi

Afghanistan’s former Vice President Amrullah Saleh who vowed to continue his fight against the Taliban and was believed to had left the country, has surfaced in Panjshir Valley, a traditional non-Taliban stronghold in the north.

In the Persian edition of the Independent, UK daily, he is seen sitting with Ahmad Massoud, the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, called the Lion of Panjshir. and former Afghan defence minister Bismillah Khan.

The trio are seen confabulating at place in Panjshir Valley. A loal journalish has put out their agenda on his post on Twitter:

Former Vice President Amrullah Saleh, Ahmad Massoud, the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, and coming in former Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi are forming a resistance force against the Taliban in Panjshir of Afghanistan.

— Ezzatullah Mehrdad (@EzzatMehrdad) August 16, 2021

Saleh is a Tajik who was born in Panjshir and he had worked as a fighter in the Army of Northern Alliance sewen by Massoud in 1996 that kept the area out of the control of Taliban.

Taliban ruld Afghanistan till 2001 but Panjshir Valley contined to be out of their authority.

Armullah Saleh, Vice President-1 in the the Ashraf Ghani government in  Afghanistan, has declared himself the “Acting President” of his country.

Saleh, a former anti-Taliban fighter from north afghanistan's Tajik community, has not made any bones of his aversion to the Taliban. Also, he is a major critic of Pakistan for its role in supporting the Taliban. As against this Vice president 2, Abdullah Abdullah was in Pakistan along with Taliban delegation soon after the Kabul takeover.

He made the announcement on the Twitter:

به اساس حکم صریح قانون اساسی جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان در صورت غیابت، فرار و یا مرگ رییس جمهور معاون اول بحیث سرپرست مقام ریاست جمهوری قرار میگیرد. من در داخل کشور استم و بصورت قانونی و مشروع سرپرست این مقام /کرسی می باشم. برای تحکیم این جایگاه باتمام رهبران کشور در مشوره استم.

— Amrullah Saleh (@AmrullahSaleh2) August 17, 2021

 “According to the clear law of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, in case of absence, escape or death, the First Vice President is appointed as the Acting President. I am in the country and I am the legal guardian of this position. In order to consolidate this place, I have consulted all the leaders of the country.”

Saleh is clearly taking advantage of the lack of clarity in Taliban’s plan of action. The group is unable to decide on the key appointments and government formation.

Constitutional position is that the President Ashraf Ghani has resigned and left the country. None of the ministers have quit.

Accrding to local journalists, the trio are forming a anti-Taliban resistance on the lines of one called Northern Alliance that had resisted Taliabn’s advances.

Panjshir Valley is Persian-speaking region of Afghanistan and home to the Tajiks.

Bazarak, the capital of Panjshir Province, has long been a center of resistance against central governments and is one of the major bases of the Northern Alliance, which overthrew the Taliban in 2001 with the help of the United States and other international forces.

In a photo published in the Persian edition of the Independent, Amrullah Saleh can be seen together in a meeting.

Ahmed Massoud announced in a recent article on Monday in the French magazine La Regal de that he wanted to organize the "struggle for freedom" like his father. "My comrades and I will give our blood to all the free Afghans who reject slavery and from whom I demand that they join me in our stronghold of Panjshir, the last free zone of our dying country," he wrote.

Ahmed Massoud had also visited Turkey where he met senior leaders to seek help for his mission.

An anonymous US diplomat in charge of policy-making on Afghanistan told The Independent newspaper of the UK that Ahmed Massoud  had also approached the US government for help. The US has not offered a response as yet.

It is interesting to note that the younger brother of Ahmad Shah Massoud was present in Islamabad as member of the Afghan delegation that few to Islamabad on the invitation of the government. He's believed to be close to Pakistan as he had paid a visit to the country.

Manza Ibtekar, an Afghan Twitter user, wrote, quoting his family in Panjshir, that large numbers of people were moving to his area. He said they needed help.

Meanwhile, Afghan National Reconciliation Council Chairman Abdullah Abdullah and former President Hamid Karzai said in a video message posted on social media Monday that they were in constant contact with Taliban leaders to ensure public safety in Kabul. The two had previously formed a three-member committee with Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar to form an interim government that was rejected by the Taliban.

The whereabouts of former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani are still unknown.