Panjshir Valley

The Taliban are finally beginning to consolidate power in Afghanistan.

The group is appointing government ministers as it attempts to form a functional apparatus.

The first appointment was an open mockery to the United States - Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir as a Defense Minister.

Zakir is a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner between 2001 and 2007.

The Taliban on Sept. 6 claimed total control over Afghanistan, saying they had won the key battle for the Panjshir Valley, the last remaining holdout of resistance against their rule.

class='cf'>

The Taliban said on Sept. 6 they had captured the last pocket of resistance in Afghanistan, the Panjshir Valley, as the top U.S. diplomat flies to Qatar to try and handle the aftermath of the chaotic American withdrawal.

class='cf'>

Taliban fighters advanced deep into the last holdout province of Panjshir on Sept. 5, as the top U.S. general warned Afghanistan faces a wider civil war that would offer fertile ground for a resurgence of terrorism.

class='cf'>

The Taliban are due to form a government within days despite fighting in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley where forces battling the hardline Islamists say they are enduring "heavy" assaults.

class='cf'>

Although both sides say they want a solution through negotiations, there is no progress when it comes to the fate of that strategic area, which is the biggest point of resistance to the Taliban who took control of Afghanistan.