Why the Taliban's takeover of Panjshir province matters
The Taliban said Monday it had "completely conquered" Panjshir province north of Kabul. The Islamist group sent thousands of fighters into Panjshir overnight to cement its control over the country a week after the last U.S. forces withdrew. "We tried our best to solve the problem through negotiations, and they rejected talks and then we had to send our forces to fight," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a Kabul news conference.
Panjshir was an anti-Taliban stronghold, and the only province that didn't fall when the group swept Afghanistan in August. Its capture demonstrates the incredible strategic success of the Taliban's swift takeover: The Panjshir Valley sits between two large mountains, and it has just one entrance, making it particularly hard to seize. When the Taliban last ruled the nation in the late 1990s, Panjshir remained out of its grasp. The province also has some symbolic importance, as it was "the launching point for the U.S.-led invasion after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon," The New York Times reported.
"Yes, Panjshir has fallen," a senior official of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan told The Washington Post. "Taliban took control of government offices. Taliban fighters entered into the governor's house."
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Jessica Hullinger is a writer and former deputy editor of The Week Digital. Originally from the American Midwest, she completed a degree in journalism at Indiana University Bloomington before relocating to New York City, where she pursued a career in media. After joining The Week as an intern in 2010, she served as the title’s audience development manager, senior editor and deputy editor, as well as a regular guest on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. Her writing has featured in other publications including Popular Science, Fast Company, Fortune, and Self magazine, and she loves covering science and climate-related issues.
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