Rohullah Saleh, brother of Afghanistan’s former vice president and now ‘acting’ President Amrullah Saleh, has been reportedly killed in clashes with the Taliban in Panjshir.

He was identified by the Taliban in Panjshir during clashes, reports said.

According to sources, he was tortured and executed by Taliban fighters.

The Taliban have claimed full control over the Panjshir valley in Afghanistan, however, the National Resistance Front (NRF) supporters have rejected this claim, saying that the NRF fighters will continue to occupy strategic positions in the province.

Some reports said that Ahmad Massoud, leader of the resistance movement against the Taliban in Panjshir, and Amrullah Saleh had fled to Tajikistan after the Taliban takeover.

However, the ousted Afghan government’s ambassador to Tajikistan has refuted the reports, saying they have not fled the country.

Ahmad Shah Massoud and former Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh have not fled Afghanistan and their resistance forces are still fighting the Taliban, the ambassador to Tajikistan said on Wednesday.

Zahir Aghbar, envoy to Dushanbe under the government of ousted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, told a news conference in Tajikistan’s capital that he was in regular contact with Saleh and that the resistance leaders were out of general communication for security reasons.

“Ahmad Massoud and Amrullah Saleh have not fled to Tajikistan. The news that Ahmad Massoud has left Panjshir is not true; he is inside Afghanistan,” Aghbar said.

“I am in constant contact with Amrullah Saleh, who is currently in Panjshir and running the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’s government,” he said.

The Taliban swept to power last month and the militant group has said they have captured the Panjshir valley, a last holdout province, though the resistance has not conceded defeat.