Kabul
Forces holding out against the Taliban in northern Afghanistan say they have taken three districts close to the Panjshir valley where remnants of government forces and other militia groups have gathered.
Defence Minister General Bismillah Mohammadi, who has vowed to resist the Taliban, said in a tweet that the districts of Deh Saleh, Bano and Pul-Hesar in the neighbouring province of Baghlan to the north of Panjshir had been taken.
Meanwhile, former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani’s brother, Hashmat Ghani, has announced his support for the Taliban.
According to reports, Hashmat Ghani announced his support for the group in the presence of Taliban leader Khalil-ur-Rehman and religious scholar Mufti Mahmood Zakir.
Earlier, Ashraf Ghani said he hopes to return home, after fleeing to the United Arab Emirates in the face of the Taliban’s rapid advance, and said he supported talks between the Taliban and top former officials.
“For now, I am in the Emirates so that bloodshed and chaos is stopped,” he said in a video message — his first appearance since leaving the capital on Sunday.
He noted he had “no intention” to remain in exile. “I am currently in talks to return to Afghanistan.”– Agencies
