RASC News Agency: Local sources in Panjshir report a significant escalation in anti-Taliban resistance activity after the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) launched a nighttime assault on a Taliban military outpost in Dara District. In a retaliatory crackdown, the Taliban have reportedly detained at least 20 civilians from the area, accusing them without evidence of supporting or communicating with the resistance movement. According to the information received, the attack occurred around 9 p.m. on Friday, May 16, targeting the so-called “Third Battalion of the Taliban Special Forces” stationed inside the home of a civilian identified as Akram, located in the village of Tunkho. The NRF has claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it resulted in the deaths of 13 Taliban fighters and injuries to four others.
Following the incident, Taliban forces surrounded the area and launched door-to-door searches, during which they detained 20 local residents, accusing them of aiding the resistance. These arrests were reportedly conducted without warrants, formal charges, or any due process. As of now, none of the detainees have been released, and their whereabouts remain unknown, prompting fears of torture, forced confessions, or even extrajudicial executions practices commonly reported under Taliban custody. This latest development underscores the enduring tensions and military confrontations between the Taliban and the National Resistance Front, particularly in the strategically vital province of Panjshir. Once a symbol of anti-Taliban defiance during the rule of Ahmad Shah Massoud, Panjshir remains a stronghold of resistance and national dissent against the Taliban’s oppressive rule.
Despite Taliban claims of restoring “security” and “stability,” the reality in Panjshir and many other regions under their control paints a far darker picture one marked by repression, surveillance, and systematic human rights abuses. The Taliban’s response to the resistance has consistently involved the collective punishment of local populations rather than any lawful or targeted counterinsurgency operations. Over the past four years, hundreds of Panjshir residents particularly young men have been arbitrarily detained, tortured, or disappeared by Taliban forces under the pretext of collaborating with the NRF. Human rights observers have repeatedly condemned these actions as a form of ethnic and political persecution, targeting primarily non-Pashtun communities that reject Taliban rule.
“The Taliban have turned Panjshir into an open-air prison,” said a local resident, speaking to RASC News on condition of anonymity. “They treat every civilian as a suspect and every home as a potential enemy hideout. There is no justice, no accountability only fear.” The Taliban have not officially acknowledged the recent attack or the subsequent arrests typical of their strategy to suppress negative press coverage and avoid admitting battlefield losses. Meanwhile, the NRF continues to assert its presence through sporadic but strategically significant operations aimed at challenging Taliban control. The arbitrary detentions and collective punishment following this week’s attack further highlight the Taliban’s fundamental failure to establish legitimate governance or meaningful reconciliation in Afghanistan. Instead of addressing the drivers of resistance such as exclusionary policies, economic collapse, and brutal repression the Taliban have relied on fear and force to maintain power.
As international attention wanes and Afghanistan fades from global headlines, the people of Panjshir remain trapped in a cycle of violence and vengeance caught between the courage of the resistance and the cruelty of an illegitimate regime.
