It was once a stronghold of the mujahideen who fought against the Soviets and is now the headquarters of the resistance movement. Fighters in the province also resisted the Taliban in the late 1990s during their rule.
Taliban spokesman Belal Kareemi told CNN on Sunday that the group’s militant fighters have taken all districts in Panjshir province except the capital of Bazarak and Rokha districts, which remain under NRF control.
The spokesman said the enemy has suffered “heavy casualties”, even among its commanders, and that the Taliban hope to be able to “clean up Panjsher as soon as possible.” Taliban fighters are currently advancing on Rokha and Bazarak, Kareemi added.
But protesters appeared to reject the Taliban’s claims, with NRF spokesman Fahim Dashti tweeting on Sunday that Paryan’s Panjshir district was “completely wiped out” by the Taliban.
“At least 1,000 terrorists were trapped because of their escape. All the attackers were killed, surrendered or captured by the locals with the help of the resistance as they fled and retreated. Many of these prisoners are foreigners and most of them they are Pakistanis, ”Dashti said.
Earlier Sunday, an NRF spokesman said: “We have allowed them (Taliban) to enter the valley intentionally and they are now trapped. Fighting is taking place in the northernmost district of Panjshir (Paryan) and the southernmost district (Anaba ). ”
“This is a tactic we used in our game book from the 1980s when the Soviets entered the valley. The NRF is all over Panjshir and the Taliban have suffered heavy casualties tonight,” the spokesman added.
CNN has not been able to independently verify overall casualty figures in recent rounds of fighting.
More domestic flights are resumed
Back in Kabul, Afghanistan Ariana Afghan Airlines has resumed flights between the capital and Herat, according to the official Facebook page on Sunday.
Also on Sunday, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) arrived in the country for a three-day trip.
“Arriving now in #Afghanistan,” tweeted Peter Maurer along with a video message in which he said, “Today I will arrive in Afghanistan, where almost 40 years of conflict have caused so much suffering and misery.”
Maurer said he would visit ICRC operations and talk to Afghans to better understand their short-, medium- and long-term needs. He added that he would talk to the authorities to ensure that “neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian action remains the basis” of the ICRC’s work, and to expand and increase its operations.
While in Afghanistan, Maurer will also visit ICRC-supported medical and rehabilitation centers for victims of violence and disease, according to an ICRC press release on Sunday.
“Before visiting, I wanted to pay tribute to the people of the ICRC and the Afghan Red Crescent who, over the past few decades, have done everything possible to keep humanity at the center of their work and counter the effect that war and violence become a way of life. “
New educational standards
Taliban talks continue on the formation of a transitional government, but a decision by the Taliban-led education ministry on Sunday indicates that life will change for civilians as the group cementes its control.
The Ministry of Higher Education approved a proposal for the separation of male and female college students for the new semester, which begins on Monday.
He signed a detailed proposal submitted by the Afghanistan Universities Union, which represents 131 colleges and universities across the country.
According to the proposal, “all female students, teachers and employees are required to observe Hijab according to Sharia.” The hijab covers the hair but not the face.
Students and women must enter the university by separate tickets. Mixed classes will only be admitted when the number of students is less than 15 and the classroom has to be divided by a curtain. Newly created classes at private universities should be separate for boys and girls, the proposal says.
There are also rules to ensure that students do not enter the classroom together. In addition, according to the proposal, “all universities are required to designate a separate area so that students can perform their prayers.”
“In the future, universities should try to hire teachers for students. In the meantime, efforts should be made to appoint senior professors known to be reliable for teaching students,” the proposal says.
Waheed Roshan, the vice-chancellor of Kabul’s Bakhtar Private University, said the institution would comply with the proposal, but said for many schools logistics would be a challenge. He told CNN that Bakhtar (where approximately 20% of the 2,000 students are girls) could take classes for boys and girls in separate shifts. But other universities may have difficulty putting partitions into their classrooms, Roshan said.
Feelings mixed by education change
CNN spoke with several students about the new regulations. Sahar, 21, who studies political science, said she was glad the Taliban had not banned girls from attending higher education, but described the new rules as extreme.
“There are so many female students in Kabul who grew up in a free environment where they had the opportunity to choose what to wear and what university to attend or whether to sit in a classroom with the boys or not, but now it would be hard for them to adapt. be to these extreme rules, ”he said.
He said that even before the Taliban took over the girls they wore modest clothes and did not see the need for new restrictions. She also said she would try to resume her studies under the new rules, but she wasn’t sure if she could continue for long.
Ziba, another student in her 20s in Kabul, said she planned to drop hopes of graduating from college citing the fluid security situation and worrying that the Taliban might impose stricter conditions in the future. He said it was better to stay home. He asked CNN not to use his real name.
But 19-year-old Mina Qasem, who graduated from high school last year, said she was delighted to start college. “I will wear any type of Hijab they ask me for, as long as I keep the universities open to girls. I am very excited to start the next chapter of my life and my sister who will finish high school this year will. Too. bid for one of the private universities at the end of the year “.
Mina added that if the girls wanted to have a voice in the future, they had to be educated no matter what the circumstances.
CNN’s Hira Humayun contributed to this report.