[33] It was announced on 29 September that Amrullah Saleh will lead the government in exile, according to a statement published by the Afghan Embassy in Geneva, Switzerland, which also backs the NRF.

[34] On 1 November, it was reported that the NRF has opened a liaison office in Washington DC after being registered with the US Justice Department in order to carry out lobbying missions to various politicians working in the city.

[8] Following the Fall of Kabul, anti-Taliban forces, including former Vice President Saleh, moved into the Panjshir Valley, the only area of Afghanistan not controlled by the Taliban, in order to create a new resistance front.

[44] On 17 August 2021, ethnic Tajik former soldiers of the Afghan National Army began to arrive in the Panjshir valley, with tanks and personnel carriers in support of the resistance.

[2] According to unconfirmed reports, Saleh's command managed to recapture Charikar, the provincial capital of Parwan Province, which had been held by the Taliban since 15 August, and that fighting had begun in Panjshir.

[46][47] At around the same time, unconfirmed reports stated that remnants of the Afghan National Army had begun massing in the Panjshir Valley at the urging of Massoud, along with the Minister of Defense Bismillah Mohammadi and provincial commanders.

[51] According to anonymous ex-American and British soldiers, some of whom were formerly Afghan-based contractors, numerous Afghans living/working abroad have been working together to raise money in order to assist the Panjshir-based fighters.

"[49] On 16 September 2022, Ahmad Massoud urged fellow Afghans living overseas to work together to find a way to end Taliban rule and bring them back to negotiations.

[57] As of August 2024, the NRF is reported to have fighters present in Panjshir, Baghlan, Parwan, Kapisa, Badakhshan, Takhar, Kunar, Kunduz, Kabul, Laghman, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Samangan, Balkh, Badghis, Ghor, Herat, Farah, Nimroz, and Sar-i-Pul.

[52] An anonymous Afghan journalist said that the group needs to start making plans for a drawn-out resistance against the Taliban if they are to hold Panjshir.

[63] Analyst Bill Roggio also argued that the Panjshir resistance's "prospects are bleak", although their base was well-defendable, and Saleh could rely on a wide network of potential supporters across the entire country.

[2] Afghan specialist Gilles Dorronsoro from Sorbonne University said that Taliban forces could enforce a lockdown on Panjshir, since it was not a major threat.

[66] Kaweh Kerami warned that if the Taliban were able to defeat the Panjshir fighters, then they would be able to roll back the gains[clarification needed] made by the international community in developing Afghanistan.