Anti-Taliban Resistance Groups Commemorate 23rd Anniversary Of Al-Qaeda Assassination Of Afghan National Hero Ahmad Shah Massoud: 'More Than Two Decades After Ahmad Shah Massoud's Martyrdom, Afghanistan Has Become A Large Prison, Especially For Women'; 'The Taliban Are The Real Enemies Of Islam And Afghanistan'

Anti-Taliban Afghan resistance groups marked the 23rd anniversary of the assassination of legendary guerrilla fighter and national hero Ahmad Shah Massoud, whom two Al-Qaeda suicide bombers posing as journalists killed on September 9, 2001, in Khajwa Bahauddin district of Takhar province. In an interview weeks before the 23rd anniversary of Massoud's death, his son Ahmad Massoud told an interviewer: "My father's assassination by Al-Qaeda, just days before 9/11, was a moment that shaped not just my family but the course of our nation."[1]

"As I have detailed in my memoir In the Name Of My Father, the impact was profound. However, it also ignited an unshakeable determination within me. At that moment, I vowed to continue his vision for a free and peaceful Afghanistan. His sacrifice was not in vain – it is the foundation upon which we are building Afghanistan's future," said the younger Massoud, who now leads the National Resistance Front (NRF) of Afghanistan, the lead group fighting the Taliban rulers.[2]

Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953-2001) (image courtesy: X.com/AziziNoorullah)

Son of Colonel Dost Mohammad Khan, the elder Massoud was born in the Jangalak area in Panjshir district on September 2, 1953. He enrolled at the Polytechnic University in Kabul in 1973 and joined the Nahzat Islamic Afghanistan party. Subsequently, Massoud left university to fight the Soviets during the Soviet-Afghan War. "This former jihadi leader declared a truce in order to maintain peace with the Russians," a media report said and noted that "this ceasefire gave Massoud the chance to establish Shura-e Nazar, or the Nazar Council, a coalition of Afghan mujahideen military groups that was thought to be one of the strongest military and guerilla organizations against the Soviet Union."[3]

Although Massoud and mujahideen leaders worked together during the 1980s against the Soviet forces, differences arose between them after the withdrawal of Soviet troops and efforts for the formation of a consensus government in Kabul in the 1990s floundered, leading to lawlessness. When the Afghan Taliban formed the first Taliban government in 1996, Massoud and other democrats formed the Northern Alliance and fought them.

In a Dari-language article titled "Ahmad Shah Massoud: Radical Islamist or Secular Democrat?" the independent daily Hasht-e-Subh wrote in 2023 that the views of Massoud, who was initially driven by a commitment to political Islam and the establishment of an Islamic government, evolved significantly over his lifetime.[4] In the 1990s, as the Taliban emerged and a new Islamic narrative took shape, Massoud's perspective shifted toward advocating a "moderate Islam" as a foundation for a democratic republic, emphasizing secular concepts such as democracy, human rights, and gender equality, and in his subsequent years, he replaced the idea of an Islamic government with that of a democratic government, focusing on democracy as the solution to Afghanistan's problems.[5]

"The reason I bear the burden of so many problems and challenges and take on a paternal responsibility is that I am in a position where I can serve the common goals of this nation more than other leaders of Afghanistan or Mujahideen, and that is nothing but freedom and living under the umbrella of Islam," Massoud wrote in one of his notes, perhaps having recognized himself as a central figure in the contemporary history of Afghanistan.[6] After the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the republican government celebrated him as a Hero of the Afghan Nation.

Massoud's son Ahmad Massoud now leads the anti-Taliban resistance in Afghanistan.

On September 8, 2024, the Purple Saturdays Movement, a women's rights group fighting against the Taliban rulers' theocratic laws banishing women from Afghan schools, workplaces, and streets, issued a Dari-language statement marking "the martyrdom anniversary" of Massoud: "We, in the Purple Saturdays Movement, with deep respect for the pure souls of martyrs and all freedom fighters of Afghanistan, invite all committed politicians, intellectuals, protest movements, elites, and opponents of the Taliban, who have become the righteous voice of the Afghan people, to set aside their differences, unite, and stand together against the Taliban, denying them any opportunity on the occasion of September 9th – the martyrdom anniversary of the National Hero and Martyrs' Week."[7]

"Ahmad Shah Massoud, the national hero of Afghanistan, who consistently maintained a firm and steadfast stance against the extremist Taliban group, believed that the Taliban not only act against the Islamic and national values ​​of Afghanistan, but are also a serious threat to peace and stability in the region and the world. In one of his famous statements, the national hero of Afghanistan declared: 'The Taliban are the real enemies of Islam and Afghanistan; their goal is the destruction of our Islamic and cultural values, and they have turned Afghanistan into a large prison.'

"Today, more than two decades after Ahmad Shah Massoud's martyrdom, Afghanistan has become a large prison, especially for women, vulnerable ethnicities, and religious minorities, and this country has turned into an escalating threat to the region and the world. Ahmad Shah Massoud always emphasized the importance of an independent, united, and democratic Afghanistan; a country where the rights of all ethnics and religious groups are respected and stressed that the fight against the Taliban should continue not only on the military arena but also in intellectual and cultural arenas," the women's rights movement observed.[8]

In this undated photo, Ahmad Shah Massoud (center) leads his forces

On September 9, 2024, the anniversary of Massoud's assassination, Sepah Azadi ("Freedom Army") published a Dari-language speech of its commander-in-chief Mohammad Jahesh, observing: "Once again, the anniversary of the martyrdom of that lion fighter has arrived. People all over the world are trying to honor the national hero by holding memorial ceremonies. But let us ask ourselves: Should we be satisfied with only theoretical and verbal commemoration in a few gatherings, or should we rise up to continue the practical struggle against the Taliban terrorism that is going on in all fields?"[9]

"Our national hero is one of the greatest followers of the path of freedom in the contemporary century. He is recognized around the world as a symbol of the fight against slavery...," Mohammad Jahesh further said, adding: "Let us be inspired by the justice and sincere service of Amir Sahab [Ahmad Shah Massoud] and his martyred comrades, and each of us become a brave and fighter Ahmad Shah Massoud. By raising the flag of freedom wherever we are in the world, whether through writing, fighting, funding fighters, or verbal propaganda, let us take a small share in the fight against the ignorant Taliban..."[10]

The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF), another anti-Taliban resistance group, released a Dari-language statement marking the 23rd anniversary of Massoud's martyrdom, emphasizing the need for convergence, alignment, and harmony among all groups, forces, and political, civil, and military movements against the Taliban.[11] "Today, with the Taliban's oppressive rule over Afghanistan, the free world once again faces the real danger of terrorism, extremism, and new waves of religious violence," the AFF stated.[12]

On September 9, 2024, Ahmad Massoud, the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, extended his condolences to Afghans and all seekers of freedom and justice, saying in a tweet: "The unity of our people, who seek solutions for the future through the thoughts and path of our martyrs, especially the National Hero of Afghanistan, is commendable and worthy of appreciation. The National Hero of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Massoud, will not be repeated in history, but his ideas and legacy of striving for freedom and justice are clear to us. Our covenant with the great Allah and our martyrs is to follow the path that they have left for us as a legacy, and with each passing day, the truth of this path becomes more evident."[13]