Panjshir is now under our command, says Taliban commander, even as Resistance fighters deny claim

"The troublemakers have been defeated and Panjshir is now under our command," said one Taliban commander. However, former vice president Amrullah Saleh, a leader of opposition forces, told a TV channel that reports that he had fled the country were lies.

Kabul: Three Taliban sources said the Islamist militia had on Friday (September 3) seized the Panjshir valley north of Kabul, the last part of Afghanistan holding out against it. "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," said one Taliban commander. It was not immediately possible to confirm the reports. Former vice president Amrullah Saleh, one of the leaders of the opposition forces, told the television station Tolo News that reports that he had fled the country were lies. And in a video clip posted on Twitter by a BBC World journalist who said it had been sent by Saleh, he said: "There is no doubt we are in a difficult situation. We are under invasion by the Taliban ... We have held the ground, we have resisted." He also tweeted: "The RESISTANCE is continuing and will continue. I am here with my soil, for my soil & defending its dignity."