Taliban Spokesman Says War in Afghanistan is Over as Group Claims to Control Panjshir

Earlier on Monday, Taliban* spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed that the group had captured the Afghan province of Panjshir, a resistance stronghold.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on Monday that the war in Afghanistan is over and an announcement about the composition of the new government can be expected in the next few days.

"Last night and this morning, Panjshir was completely under control. Thus, the war in Afghanistan is over. There is no longer any excuse for it. It's time to rebuild our country," Zabiullah Mujahid said at a press conference.

The Taliban spokesman assured that no civilians were injured in clashes in Panjshir.

"A new government will be announced in the next few days," Mujahid added.

Zabiullah Mujahid confirmed that several countries, including Turkey, China and Russia, had been invited to a ceremony where the composition of the new Afghan government would  be announced.

"Invitations have been sent to several countries to attend the declaration ceremony of the new government," Mujahid said, as quoted by the Shamshad News broadcaster.

The Taliban movement intends to invite ex-Afghan military to join the security departments in the new government, the Taliban spokesman said.

"The Afghan forces, which have been trained for the past 20 years, will be invited [to serve in] security departments," Mujahid said, as quoted by the TOLOnews broadcaster.

Earlier on Monday, Mujahid said that Panjshir, the last of 34 Afghan provinces, has completely come under the control of the Taliban. Local resistance forces, led by the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the head of the Northern Alliance who was killed by terrorists, denied this claims.

This is the second statement made by the Taliban about the end of the war in Afghanistan. The first time they did so was on 16 August, a day after the capture of Kabul.

On the night of 31 August, the US military left Kabul airport, ending the near-20-year American military presence in the country. In mid-August, the Taliban entered Kabul, which led to the collapse of the Western-backed government.

*A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.