Afghan crisis: Taliban, rebels claim heavy toll in raging Panjshir battle

Efforts on to resume operations at Kabul airport

Taliban and Afghan rebels loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud claimed heavy casualties in heavy fighting in the Panjshir Valley, with some media reports suggesting 13 Taliban fighters were ambushed on Thursday.

Panjshir is the last Afghan province resisting rule by the Taliban, which took control of the country two weeks ago by overthrowing the Western-backed government as the US and other foreign troops withdrew after 20 years. According to certain media reports, more than 300 fighters from both sides lost their lives during the fighting over the past few days, as the Northern Resistance Front refused to give up despite being surrounded by the Taliban from all sides.

“We started operations after negotiations with the local armed group failed,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. Taliban fighters had entered Panjshir and taken control of some territory, he said.

“They (the enemy) suffered heavy losses,” he said.

A spokesman for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA) rebel grouping said it had full control of all passes and entrances and had driven back efforts to take Shotul district.

“The enemy made multiple attempts to enter Shotul from Jabul-Saraj, and failed each time,” he said, referring to a town in neighbouring Parwan province.

Since the Taliban swept into Kabul on August 15, several thousand fighters from local militias and remnants of the government’s armed forces have massed in Panjshir under the leadership of Massoud, son of a former Mujahideen commander.

They have been holding out in the steep valley where attacks from outside are difficult. Efforts to negotiate a settlement appear to have broken down, with each side blaming the other for the failure, as the Taliban prepared to announce a new government.

Mujahid said it was a matter of a few days while Taliban official Ahmadullah Muttaqi said a ceremony was being prepared at the presidential palace.

Qatar’s foreign minister said the Gulf state was talking with the Taliban and Turkey about potential technical support to restart operations at Kabul airport, which would facilitate humanitarian assistance and possibly more evacuations.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told the same news conference in Doha, “we need to adjust to the new reality” in Afghanistan and said he would be talking with regional leaders about securing safe passage through third countries. 

“Our immediate priority is... those remaining British nationals, and also the Afghans who worked for the United Kingdom and others who may be at the most risk,” Raab said.

Western Union to resume money transfer services (Reuters)

Western Union Co is resuming money-transfer services to Afghanistan, a senior executive told Reuters on Thursday, a decision he said was in line with a US push to allow humanitarian activity to continue after the Taliban's takeover.

The world's largest money-transfer firm and MoneyGram International Inc, another global remittance provider, suspended services in Afghanistan two weeks ago after the Islamist militia captured Kabul at lightning speed.

EU pushes for more autonomy amid Afghanistan fallout (AP)

Still reeling from the European Union's shortcomings in Afghanistan, officials from the 27-nation bloc met Thursday to discuss ways to improve their response to future crises and not be so reliant on the US. 

European ministers of defense and foreign affairs gathered in Slovenia for talks also involving NATO and U.N. officials to look at ways to improve the bloc's operational engagement and develop a rapid response force capable of operating in difficult military theaters.

Pakistan shuts key border crossing over refugee influx scare (PTI)

Pakistan on Thursday temporarily closed a key border crossing with Afghanistan, apparently due to fear of the influx of refugees eager to leave their homeland after the Taliban seized power last month.

Chaman border crossing - the second-largest commercial border point with Afghanistan after the Torkham commercial town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa - has been closed due to security threats, Geo News reported, citing sources.