The Afghan resistance today claimed it had not been defeated despite the Taliban celebrating victory in the Panjshir Valley, the last bastion of freedom against Islamist rule.
Ahmad Massoud, the son of the legendary freedom fighter Ahmad Shah 'the Lion of Panjshir,' tweeted: 'We are in Panjshir and our Resistance will continue.'
The Sandhurst and King's College London graduate said he was safe but did not give any details of his whereabouts.
The Taliban claims he has fled to Turkey and allege that his ally the former vice president Amrullah Saleh has sought refuge in Tajikistan.
Neither claim can be verified nor can the Taliban's assertion that it has wrestled absolute control of the Panjshir.
The jihadists still haven't formed a government, three weeks after they seized Kabul, and in the capital scores of people have been taking to streets as basic services collapse and the UN warns of food shortages.
Taliban fighters in Kabul on Tuesday fired into the air to disperse the crowds who were heard chanting the name of Ahmad Massoud and for the liberation of the Panjshir.
Massoud, 32, released an audio message to the media on Monday vowing that his militia would fight on and called on all Afghans for 'a national uprising for the dignity, freedom and prosperity of our country.'
The Taliban on Monday unfurled their white banner over the Panjshiri capital, Bazarak, but although they may have seized control of the major arteries through the valley, the resistance still seeks to wage a guerilla war.
Taliban fighters celebrate victory in the Panjshir Valley on Monday. The jihadists claim to have wrestled control of the province and completed a total victory over Afghanistan
Although it is possible that the Taliban has seized control of the major arteries and villages of the Panjshir, it is equally possible that the resistance has retreated only as far as the steep sides of the mountains from which it will wage a guerilla war
Two young boys run away from the shooting Taliban militants as hundreds protested in Kabul on Tuesday
Women protesting in the centre of Kabul as Taliban militants stand guard with assault rifles
The valley has repelled invaders time and again, defended by Massoud's father from the Soviets in the 1980s and then again from the Taliban in the 1990s.
Pro-resistance social media accounts are fighting an information battle against Taliban propagandists and claim that they will never surrender, that time is on their side and the jihadists will eventually be vanquished once more.
A Twitter account called Resistance 2.0 wrote on Monday: 'Last night we had to make a hard decision in the face of furious enemy attacks and depleted munitions: make a last stand in Bazarak [the provincial capital] and risk the total elimination of our leadership or retreat to higher ground in order to continue the resistance.
'We chose the latter.
'Panjshir is like a maze with dozens of valleys within the Panjshir. We have retreated with our honour intact having inflicted the most casualties on the Taliban than all the other provinces combined during the war. Taliban can claim victory for capturing Bazarak.
'We don't fight for governor's compound or Panjshir. We fight for freedom and the freedom of all Afghanistan.
'Everyone is safe and in good spirits. We are on a terrain that we know and best suits the next chapter of our resistance. We know what we are doing! This was expected!'
Today scores of protesters in Kabul chanted the name of Ahmad Massoud as they called for rights for women, work and freedom of movement.
Taliban fighters fired into the air to disperse the crowds, some of whom fled in terror.
Their bravery in standing up to the jihadists comes as the Taliban still haven't managed to form a government, leaving the country in a chaotic limbo as many people, particularly women, have lost their jobs.
Taliban members patrol after they took over Panjshir Valley, the only province the group had not seized during its sweep last month in Afghanistan on September 6, 2021
Taliban members pose for a photo after they took over Panjshir Valley, the only province the group had not seized during its sweep last month in Afghanistan on September 6, 2021
