Taliban shuts internet in Panjshir to stop Northern Alliance from galvanizing support

In a bid to curb the Northern Alliance’s increasing resistance in Panjshir, the Taliban has cut down the province’s internet connection, a tweet by the resistance force revealed on Sunday. Furthermore, it stated that the Roshan and Etisalat networks, the telecommunication networks used by the leaders, were also down. Experts have said that internet blackout directly implies that the Taliban aimed to stop Ahmad Massoud, Amrullah Saleh and other leaders from tweeting. It is worth mentioning that Panjshir, nested in the Hindu Kush mountains, is the only Afghan province that has not fallen to the Sunni Pashtun insurgents.

The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan has been quite active on the microblogging website, galvanising support for their movement. Amidst the ongoing war of nerves with Taliban, the NRF has shared several videos that feature Afghan youth training hard to battle the insurgents. In addition to updating the count of Talib casualties, it also, from time to time, shares pictures and videos of global protests held in honor of the Afghan resistance force. 

Meanwhile, in the latest development, the Taliban have banned music and female voices on television and radio channels in the province of Kandahar. From 1996 to 2001, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist, setting up ultra-austere rules for residents. The restrictions were particularly stringent for women, who were not allowed to step out sans male relatives, to get educated or even to uncover their faces. Now, with Sunni Fundamentalists inching closer to reestablish the Islamic emirate, the women of Afghanistan fear for their future and hard-earned rights.

Current situation in Panjshir

Amid the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Panjshir Valley under the Northern Alliance forces has been holding fort against the militants and has seen a strong resistance led by 'caretaker' President Amrullah Saleh and Ahmad Massoud, son of famous anti-Taliban politician Ahmad Shah Massoud.

Earler this week, Republic TV's reporter Emran Khurasani assessed the ground situation from Bazarak of Panjshir showing a Humvees and flag of the Northern Alliance resistance force waving strongly. Resistance force vehicles can also be seen parked outside the buildings. This comes even as the terrorist group cuts off the valley's access to food and supply routes. The entire area has been isolated and surrounded and civilians can neither enter nor get out of the Panjshir Valley amid the growing resistance, as per sources.

Image Credits: AP