The Taliban declared victory in the final portion of Afghanistan still resisting their rule on Monday (Sept 6), stating that the capture of the Panjshir valley completed their takeover of the country and that a new government would be unveiled soon.
After days of combat with the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA), led by Panjshiri leader Ahmad Massoud, pictures on social media showed Taliban members standing in front of the gate of the Panjshir provincial governor's compound.
At a news conference, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, "Panjshir, which was the last hideout of the escapee enemy, is captured,"
Massoud refused to admit defeat, insisting that his group, which included remnants of the Afghan army as well as local militia members, was still fighting.
On Twitter, he added, "We are in Panjshir and our Resistance will continue," He also stated that he was safe, but provided no further information on his whereabouts.
The rocky valley north of Kabul has a long history of withstanding attacks, including those launched by Soviet soldiers in the 1980s and the Taliban during their prior control in the 1990s. After the September 11 attacks on the United States, it was the major redoubt of the Northern Alliance resistance forces that overthrew the Taliban with US air backing in 2001.
The Taliban promised the valley's residents, who are ethnically different from the Taliban's majority Pashtun, that no "discriminatory act against them" would be taken against them.
"They are our brothers," Mujahid declared, "and we will work together for a common goal and the welfare of the country."
Classrooms divided by curtains
The Taliban have tried to convince Afghans and foreign countries that they will not return to their previous ruthless rule when they carried out horrific public punishments and prevented women and girls from participating in public life.
However, more than three weeks after storming Kabul, they have neglected to form a government or provide information about the social limitations they will impose.
"That's a long way off." US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House late Monday when asked if the US will recognize the Taliban.
Female students were segregated in class with curtains, taught separately, or restricted to particular portions of the campus, according to teachers and students at universities in Afghanistan's main cities, Kabul, Kandahar, and Herat.
Before the Taliban took power, female students sat separately from males in university classes, but classrooms were not physically divided, according to one female student.
"Putting up curtains is not acceptable," Anjila, a 21-year-old Kabul University student, told Reuters over the phone.
"When I first walked into class, I was in such a bad mood... We're gradually reverting to a time period of 20 years ago."
Students attend class under new classroom conditions at Avicenna University in Kabul on Sept 6, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS
Humanitarian assistance
Hundreds of medical facilities in Afghanistan are at risk of closing because Western donors are prohibited from dealing with the Taliban, according to a World Health Organization official.
The WHO is attempting to bridge the gap by supplying supplies, equipment, and funding to 500 health centers, as well as coordinating medical delivery with Qatar, according to Rick Brennan, the UN health agency's regional emergency director.
In the weeks before the final US soldiers departed Kabul, US-led foreign forces evacuated around 124,000 foreigners and at-risk Afghans, but tens of thousands of people who feared Taliban retaliation were left behind.
An organizer told Reuters that over 1,000 people, including Americans, have been stranded in northern Afghanistan for days waiting for approval to board charter flights, blaming the delay on the US State Department. The account's details could not be independently verified by Reuters.
Henrietta Fore, the executive director of Unicef, said the organization has recorded 300 children separated from their families during the chaotic evacuations from Kabul airport.
"Some of these children were flown to Germany, Qatar, and other destinations... We anticipate that this figure will climb as a result of ongoing identification operations "In a statement, she stated.
According to the International Organization for Migration, drought and war have driven nearly 5.5 million people from their homes in Afghanistan, with more than 550,000 people newly displaced in 2021.
Western powers have stated that humanitarian aid will be sent, but that greater economic engagement will be contingent on the composition of the Islamists' new government in Kabul.
During a meeting with top Taliban leader Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanifi in Kabul on Monday, China's envoy vowed to give humanitarian help, according to Tolo news.
Although China has not formally recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan's new rulers, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted Mullah Baradar, the group's political office chief, last month and stated that the world should guide rather than pressure the new government.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Qatar's reigning emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, to try to reach an agreement among allies on how to deal with Taliban authority.
According to the State Department, Blinken also spoke with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah on Monday and thanked him for Kuwait's cooperation with evacuations.
