3 In the case of Panjshir, some redistribution of the massive wealth and power obtained by the Panjshiri political-military elites in the wake of the 2001 victory, through patronage or investments in the Panjshir valley, seems to have created a limited windfall for portions of the population of this newly created, small- sized province. [...] The momentous military successes in the northeast that paved the way for the Taleban takeover nationally also partially relied on the ability of local Taleban to negotiate the peaceful surrender of local men on the side of the Republic. [...] The IEA’s approach to governance has, therefore, been marked by the need to balance the sway of the two main local constituencies, Uzbeks and Tajiks (both about the same size), with their respective ethnic elites entrenched from at least the Republic era and often from the days of the mujahedin, while at the same time, not neglecting Takhar’s Pashtun minority, who played a major role in the early. [...] As the commander of the only Taleban front in the whole Tagab- Keshem area at the time of the fall of the Republic, he had received the surrender of all troops and weapons in these two districts, finding himself overnight in charge of a formidable force of 500 men. [...] He was later appointed by the newly constituted NRF as a delegate to the peace negotiations at the end of August 2021, preceding the siege of Panjshir, but quickly defected to the Taleban and contributed to the failure of the talks.
- Pages
- 39
- Published in
- Afghanistan
