As Afghanistan fights its battle with the Taliban, we see the conditions getting no better. On 15th August, we celebrated our Independence day and, the Taliban took over Afghanistan. With people trying to escape from the country to human rights being crushed, we only hope for peace in Afghanistan.
However, resistance has begun in Afghanistan: as thousands of people gathered at Panjshir Valley, one of the few parts of Afghanistan not yet controlled by the Taliban. The people move there to support the anti-Taliban bastion to save Afghanistan from the Taliban.
Ahmad Massoud, leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan and anti-Taliban fighter, is open to negotiation with the Taliban. But they refuse to surrender and, if the time comes, they are ready to fight.
32-year-old Massoud is the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, one of the main leaders of Afghanistan’s anti-Soviet resistance in the 1980s. He has also called for aid from France, Europe, America, and the Arab world, who he said helped them in their fight against the Soviets and then against the Taliban 20 years ago.
In a letter to Levy on August 16, Massoud said:
“My father, Commander Massoud, our national hero, bequeathed to me a legacy: and that legacy is to fight for Afghans’ freedom. That fight is now irreversibly mine. My companions in arms and I are ready to give our blood. We call on all free Afghans, all those who reject servitude, to join our bastion of Panjshir, the last free region in our tormented land. To Afghans of all regions and tribes, I say: do fight with us!”
Born on 10 July 1989 in North-East Afghanistan, Massoud has completed his secondary education in Iran. He further has an undergraduate degree in War Studies at King’s College London. He also has a master’s degree in International Politics from City, University of London. Massoud officially entered politics in 2019.
“The Taliban are not a problem for the Afghan people alone. Under Taliban control, Afghanistan will without doubt become ground zero of radical Islamist terrorism; plots against democracies will be hatched here once again.”
Massoud was also appointed CEO of the Massoud foundation in 2016. The Massoud Foundation is an NGO that assists children of martyrs and families in need. This foundation also aims to bring economic and social development to Afghanistan.
According to a report in Hindustan Times, Massoud said, “Together we will write a new page in the story of Afghanistan. It will be a new chapter in the eternal resistance of the oppressed against tyranny.”
While he becomes the hope for people in Afghanistan to restore women’s rights, prevent public executions, we hope Afghantisan gets peace soon.
