Ahmad Massoud vows to continue resistance against Taliban
Ahmad Massoud
Massoud stressed that if his National Resistance Front gave up on resistance, Afghanistan would turn into a safe haven for international terrorists
Post United States announced plans for its troop pullout from Afghanistan, the Taliban embarked on a large-scale operation to take the country under its control. On August 15, Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani stepped down and fled the country. Those unwilling to accept Taliban rule organized a resistance movement in the Panjshir Valley, led by Ahmad Massoud. Taliban Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on September 6 that the movement had secured full control over the Panjshir province. Massoud, in turn, stated that resistance against Taliban rule goes on. On September 7, the Taliban announced a new Afghan government consisting only of the movement’s members, the majority of whom are ethnic Pashtuns.
Resistance forces based in Afghanistan’s Panjshir province will continue their fight against the Taliban (outlawed in Russia), said resistance leader Ahmad Massoud, son of the late Afghan field commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.
“We will continue our resistance, we will not let these people take our freedom from us,” the Aamaj News agency quoted him as saying on Tuesday. “If we give up on resistance, Afghanistan will turn into a safe haven for international terrorists. We can’t tolerate that the [Taliban] government uses force and we will appreciate any country reluctant to recognize the Taliban government,” he added.
According to Ahmad Massoud, his National Resistance Front was determined to bring peace to Afghanistan. “Afghanistan’s government should be accepted by all sectors of society,” he pointed out. “The nation is not content with this cabinet, women, religious and ethnic minorities are dissatisfied with it because it is a terrorist government whose members are blacklisted as they are considered to be terrorists,” the Panjshir resistance leader stressed.
