Dostum Says Killing of Hasib Panjshiri Will Not Extinguish Resistance

Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum, leader of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, has said that the fight against the Taliban administration will not end with the killing of Hasib Panjshiri, commander of the National Resistance Front. He stressed that the incident, in his words, has made the path of resistance clearer.

In a message posted on his Facebook page on Friday, 30 Asad, Dostum wrote that Panjshiri was among the commanders who, he said, fought to defend the people against the Taliban administration. He added that the killing of the commander would not extinguish the “fire of resistance.”

The National Islamic Movement leader also said that Panjshiri’s comrades-in-arms would “not let his blood be shed in vain.” He expressed hope that what he described as the Taliban administration’s “rule of oppression and despotism” would be removed from Afghanistan.

Hasib Panjshiri was one of the well-known figures of the National Resistance Front and was killed after several years of fighting. He was martyred on Thursday, 29 Asad, during a Taliban ambush in northern Salang.

The killing of the National Resistance Front commander has triggered widespread reactions. Salang is considered one of the important routes between northern and central Afghanistan and has in recent years repeatedly been the scene of armed clashes.