Kabul, SAEDNEWS: The 'Lion of Panjshir' is a figure not many in Afghanistan will forget for a long period of time. A veteran Tajik commander, Ahmad Shah Massoud was a grand, unifying figure in the country, instrumental in the formation of Northern Alliance that was armed by countries including India and Russia, and that drove out the Taliban. Under his command, the picturesque Panjshir valley kept the Taliban at an arm's length. Later, in the 1990s, he became the all-powerful defence minister in Burhanuddin Rabbani's cabinet. On September 9, 2001, two days before the terrorist attacks in America, Massoud was fatally injured in a suicide bombing by Al Qaeda at his residence by two men posing as journalists, with an explosive reportedly concealed in a video camera.
With Taliban inching closer to Kabul, his son Ahmad Massoud, who took over from his father in Panjshir, said in an interview to Atlantic Council that he was open to negotiations with the Taliban militants. “I am willing and ready to forgive the blood of my father for the sake of peace in Afghanistan and security and stability in Afghanistan,” said Massoud, adding that he and other Afghans are not willing to “give in to the will of terrorism”, but ready to create "an inclusive government with the Taliban” through political negotiations.
Khatibzadeh urges int'l community to help displaced Afghans
