Senior Taliban Security Official Visits Panjshir Amid Renewed Security Concerns

Local sources in Panjshir have confirmed that Ibrahim Sadr, the Deputy Minister of Interior for Security in the Taliban administration, has visited the province and held a security meeting with local officials on Monday, December 14 (24th of Qaws in the Afghan calendar). The meeting comes as Panjshir’s security situation once again draws significant attention.

According to sources, the meeting was held in secrecy under tight security at the governor’s office in Panjshir. During the meeting, Taliban forces closed the main road leading to the provincial government compound, preventing local residents and visitors to government offices from accessing the area — a move that has sparked public discontent.

This visit comes about a week after an attack attributed to the “National Resistance Front of Afghanistan” on a Taliban outpost in Panjshir. Last week, the group claimed responsibility for an assault on a Taliban position in the village of Manjasto in the Abdullah Khil valley of Dara district, stating that 17 Taliban members were killed. Local Taliban officials have denied the claim.

Sources report that Ibrahim Sadr arrived in Panjshir on Sunday evening, prompting a shutdown of public roads to regular traffic. According to these sources, the primary purpose of his visit is to assess the security landscape and prevent operations by anti-Taliban armed groups during the winter.

Located north of Kabul, Panjshir experiences cold and snowy winters. Sources add that many Taliban outposts are situated in mountainous regions, and as winter sets in, Taliban forces face severe logistical and security challenges — conditions that, according to observers, could enable greater mobility for anti-Taliban fighters.