Taliban Fighters Awaiting Order to Attack Resistance Forces in Afghan Panjshir, Source Says

KABUL (Sputnik) - Fighters of the Taliban* movement (banned in Russia as terrorist) are waiting for an order to attack the holdout Panjshir province northeast of the Afghan capital of Kabul, a source told Sputnik on Sunday.

Earlier on Sunday, the Taliban gave four hours to surrender to Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan. In response, Massoud said that Panjshir would not surrender and that the locals were ready to fight. Massoud also claimed that he and his supporters wanted a peaceful solution and were ready to negotiate an inclusive government with the Taliban, but the movement refused the offer.

The Agence France-Presse news agency reported earlier in the day, citing a source in the Taliban, that several hundred Taliban fighters had moved out towards Panjshir.

The goal of the offensive in Panjshir is to unite the country under the rule of the Taliban, the movement's spokesman clarified.

"Our goal is to unite the country, there can be no different regimes. However, some people want to stir trouble. If problems cannot be solved through mutual understanding, the last solution is war," the spokesman said in an interview with Al-Hadath broadcaster.

The Taliban entered Kabul on August 15 after a months-long offensive, prompting the civilian government to collapse. Panjshir is the epicenter of the resistance led by Massoud and Amrullah Saleh, the first vice president from Ashraf Ghani's government.

* A terrorist organization banned in Russia