Speaker 1:

Last October in the middle of the night, the last fragment of moderate Afghanistan fled through these mountains. The Taliban army had just taken over. 30,000 people made it here to the Panjshir Valley and the world has barely heard of them since. It was expected that they'd perish, just another footnote in the Taliban story. But they've managed to survive and today, they're fighting back.

Speaker 2:

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Speaker 1:

These soldiers are the remnants of the government troops who'd escaped from Kabul. It was here in this narrow gorge that they dug in and finally stopped the Taliban assault.

This is the entrance to the Panjshir Valley and the Taliban are just over this ridge. When the government troops pass through here, they blew up the road behind them blocking the Taliban out and themselves in for the duration of the long Afghan winter. But now, the snows are melting and the battle for the Panjshir and Afghanistan is starting again.

Since they lost Kabul, this hut has become the centre of power for the government of Afghanistan. Which part military headquarters, part parliament house, and part town hall. And this man is effectively the leader of each of them. Mujahideen commander, Ahmad Shah Massoud. Massoud's been a military commander for almost 20 years, but today he faces literally, the fight of his life.

Ahmad Massoud:

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Speaker 1:

The struggle to survive militarily is just one of Massoud's problems. Keeping people fed is even more pressing and it seems he's the only focus for a quest for food, fuel, medicine, and housing.

Ahmad Massoud:

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Mehrdad:

Taliban, they put pressure on the people. They don't try to make the freedom.

Speaker 1:

It's volunteers like engineer [Mehrdad], that Massoud is relying upon to bring some government and wealth here to the Panjshir. He's a specialist in plant genetics and like virtually all other educated moderates, he fled Kabul as the Taliban approached.

Mehrdad:

They don't parliament women, you know, go to school. They don't parliament the girls, go to school university. At least I like my children they now go to university, if it be my son, if it be my daughter.

Speaker 1:

With 27 relatives crammed into this old jeep, he drove through the night to reach, what is for him, the last tolerant corner of Afghanistan.

Mehrdad:

For this, I feel freedom here. I like, you know, nobody bother me. I do my work, I do my job and I take care my family, and the village I like. I live in this area. This is the reason.

Speaker 1:

Today,  Mehrdad responsible for feeding and housing the thousands of refugees who are trapped inside the valley. There's no large international aid programmes here, just a broke government, the shelter of mosques, and the help of neighbours to keep people alive.

Mehrdad:

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Speaker 5:

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Mehrdad:

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Speaker 5:

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Mehrdad:

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Speaker 5:

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Speaker 1:

These families lost everything when they fled their village of Charikar, outside of Kabul.

Speaker 5:

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Speaker 1:

Although the outspokenness of these women would be unheard of under the Taliban, it was not issues of feminism or civil liberties that forced them to flee. As Northern Afghans, they feared for their lives at the hands of the dominantly Southern Taliban. And they fought for their lives to repel them.

Speaker 6:

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Speaker 5:

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Speaker 6:

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Speaker 7:

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Speaker 1:

These men are Taliban soldiers captured by Massoud's troops and now in prison in the Panjshir.

Speaker 8:

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Speaker 1:

Almost daily the Taliban are creating new interpretations of Islamic laws in the areas they control. To the half million people who recently left Kabul, the Taliban antics are becoming increasingly bizarre. But for these men, their belief in their cause is unshaken.

Speaker 9:

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Speaker 10:

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Speaker 1:

These refugees from Kabul are also a deeply religious people. To them the Taliban's claim to a higher form of Islam is not only insulting, it's just more extreme. For these people, the Taliban are merely servants of Pakistan. Created, armed, and advised by Pakistani intelligence. For them, the battle is not against fellow Muslims, but against a front for foreign powers. And in the Panjshir, as Massoud knows, nothing draws people together more than a foreign invader.

It was in the Panjshir that the most decisive battles against the might of the Russian army were fought. And today, the remnants of a decade of war are still being well worked over. It was from his base in the Panjshir that Massoud and his mujahideen devastated the Russian army. Ousted the communist, and created the Afghan Republic. No one here forgets that Massoud, even when the odds seem impossible, has fought his way out of this valley before.

A few months ago, these men were students, farms, workers. In a few weeks, their training will be complete and they'll form the backbone of Massoud's battle plan.

Defending the entrance to the Panjshir throughout winter bought Massoud time to regroup and raise a volunteer army. With the mountain passes now opening up, the major battles are about to begin.

Speaker 11:

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Speaker 1:

I've seen some of your new recruits and many of them seem rather raw. Can they be any match for far more seasoned Taliban troops?

Speaker 11:

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Gul Hadda:

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Speaker 1:

It's veteran commanders like [Gul Hadda], that Massoud is relying upon to train his volunteer army. And more importantly in the short term, to hold the line at the entrance to the Panjshir.

Gul Hadda:

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Speaker 13:

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Gul Hadda:

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Speaker 13:

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Gul Hadda:

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Speaker 1:

One by one. Where are we going?

Gul Hadda:

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Speaker 1:

The Taliban are at the end of this gorge and two-thirds of the country lies behind them. If they want all of Afghanistan they have to take this narrow valley. To attack here, will be almost suicidal, but they've made such a tax before and no one doubts that they'll do it again.

Gul Hadda:

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Speaker 1:

For the past few weeks, Taliban forward scouts have been trying to map the front line positions here in search for a path through this minefield. Gul Hadda knows that an attack is coming. The Taliban simply cannot afford to leave Massoud's forces here, just 100 kilometres from their new capital.

If Massoud remains trapped inside the Panjshir, the Taliban will destroy him. And to break out, he needs more than just his own troops. It's clear his success now depends on finding other allies in the north. No easy task in an area torn by civil war. To survive, Massoud now has to turn old enemies into allies.

Ahmad Massoud:

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Speaker 1:

The time has come for Massoud to leave the valley and travel across the rest of the north. He's just received news, an uprising of his supporters in east Afghanistan has failed. They attacked alone and without other active fronts, the Taliban swamped them with troops. A joint military strategy for all of north Afghanistan has now become vital.

Speaker 14:

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Speaker 15:

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Speaker 1:

Massoud is travelling to a secret meeting. He's five hours from the nearest town and for his bodyguards, it's tense place to break down. A telling reflection on the lack of government and order across the fractured north.

Ahmad Massoud:

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Speaker 1:

But if Dostum and Hilali are former enemies of Massoud's, that they control, and Dostum in particular, the largest arsenal of weapons in the country.

Theoretically, Dostum and Massoud became allies when Kabul fell, but in reality, they haven't even met since then nor had any joint battle plan.

I lasted about six seconds in the meeting with Dostum and the other commanders before I was thrown out. But six hours later, Massoud emerged with a deal. A joint government across the north and more importantly, a merging of all military forces.

Ahmad Massoud:

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Speaker 1:

Deep in the heart of the Panjshir, it's sometimes easy to forget the trauma that the next few months are going to bring. In reality, Massoud's alliance may still prove to be a shaky one, but in the chaos that has reigned across north Afghanistan, it's the first step towards creating a unified government. And more importantly, a single military strategy.

Engineer Mehrdad has planted his crops to feed the refugees but is unsure if he'll see them come to harvest. He survived years of warlords, factions, and fanatics. But if Massoud fails, he could no longer live in Afghanistan.

Mehrdad:

Is difficult to survive in between the Taliban. Two ways yet are maybe I go out of the country, maybe I die. This is my ... own idea.

Speaker 1:

The Taliban have proven themselves to be an overwhelming force, but as it has in the past, this tiny valley may still hold the key to the future of Afghanistan.

Speaker 16:

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Speaker 17:

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