Three Taliban sources said the Islamist militia had taken the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul on Friday, the last province in Afghanistan to oppose it, although a resistance leader denied it had fallen.
“By the grace of Allah Almighty, we have control of all of Afghanistan. The cause of trouble has been defeated and Panjshir is now in our command,” a Taliban commander said.
Reports could not be confirmed immediately, but deafening turns of celebratory shots erupted across Kabul and Facebook accounts were full of mentions of the fall of Panjshir.
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A BBC World journalist posted a video clip on Twitter in which former Vice President Amrullah Saleh, one of the leaders of opposition forces, said he was still in the valley.
“There is no doubt that we are in a difficult situation. We are under invasion by the Taliban,” he said. “We’ve kept the ground, we’ve resisted.”
He also tweeted, “RESISTANCE continues and will continue. I am here with my ground, for my ground and defending its dignity.”
His son Ebadullah Saleh also dismissed reports of the fall of Panjshir, where thousands of fighters from regional militias and remnants of former government forces had gathered under the leadership of Ahmad Massoud, the son of the late commander of the mujahideen Ahmad Shah Massoud.
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Massoud himself tweeted: “News of the Panjshir conquests is circulating in the Pakistani media. This is a lie.”
There had been reports of heavy fighting and casualties in the valley, which is walled in by the mountains except for a narrow entrance and which had resisted Soviet occupation, as well as the previous Taliban government which was ousted on 2001.
The Taliban seized Kabul on August 15 after rapid advances across Afghanistan.
New government
Earlier, Taliban sources said the group’s co-founder, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, would lead a new Afghan government that will be announced soon.
Its immediate priority may be to prevent the collapse of an economy facing drought and the ravages of a 20-year conflict that killed some 240,000 Afghans before U.S. forces completed a tumultuous retreat on August 30th.
Afghanistan faces not only a humanitarian disaster, but also threats to its security from rival jihadist groups, including a local branch of the Islamic State.
Baradar would be joined by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, son of the late Taliban co-founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai in high positions, three sources said.
“All the top leaders have arrived in Kabul, where preparations are in the final stages of announcing the new government,” said a Taliban official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Haibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme religious leader, will focus on religious affairs and governance, another Taliban source said.
Although Taliban officials have spoken of wanting to form a consensus government, a source close to the movement said the interim government would be made up solely of Taliban members.
It would consist of 25 ministries, with an advisory council, or shura, of 12 Muslim scholars, the source added.
A loya jirga, or grand assembly, is also planned within six to eight months to bring together representatives of all Afghan society to discuss a constitution and the structure of the future government, the source said.
Without the help the country has maintained for years, it will be difficult for the Taliban to avert economic collapse.
Western powers say they are ready to commit to the Taliban and send humanitarian aid, but that formal government recognition and broader economic aid will depend on action – not just promises – to safeguard human rights.
When they were in power from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban imposed violent punishments and banned women and older girls from school and work.
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This time, the movement has tried to present a more conciliatory face to the world, promising to protect human rights and prevent revenge, although it has not yet explained what social norms it will apply.
The United States, the European Union and others have questioned their guarantees.
Women’s rights
On Friday, dozens of women protested near the presidential palace, urging the Taliban to respect women’s rights and their significant gains in education and labor force over the past two decades.
“Our demonstrations are because without the presence of women, no society will prosper,” said Fatema Etemadi, one of the protesters.
Reuters videos showed that most of the women were dispersed after an armed Taliban militant intervened.
The 250 women judges in Afghanistan especially fear the imprisoned men who have now been released by the Taliban.
“Four or five Taliban members came and asked the people in my house,‘ Where is this woman judge? These were people he had put in prison, “said a judge who had fled Europe from an undisclosed location, asking not to be identified.
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