KULOB, February 7, 2009, Asia-Plus — On Friday February 6, the Kulob mayor’s office organized presentation of a novel about life of known Afghan military leader Ahmad Shah Masoud by Tajik journalist Said Rahmon entitled “Sipahsolor Masoud” (Military Leader Masoud).
The book-presentation ceremony was attended by representatives from the Afghan Embassy in Dushanbe – Mhibulla Qasim and Zamanuddin Zaman – as well as local readers and journalists.
Speaking at the ceremony, Said Rahmon told those present how he had collected materials for his novel in Afghanistan and Iran. During the meeting, it was noted that the book would be reproduced in Afghanistan in the near future.
Ahmad Shah Masoud (September 2, 1953 – September 9, 2001) was a Kabul University engineering student turned into military leader. Following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet-backed government there, Masoud became Defense Minister of Afghanistan in 1992 under Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani. Following the collapse of Rabbani”s government and the rise of the Taliban regime, Masoud became the military leader of the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan. Because most factions were from the north of Afghanistan, the Western media called them the “Northern Alliance.”
On September 9, 2001, Masoud was assassinated in Takhar province, Afghanistan by suspected al-Qaeda agents. The following year, he was named “National Hero” by the order of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The date of his death, September 9, is observed as a national holiday in Afghanistan, known as “Masoud Day.” The year following his assassination, in 2002, Masoud was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
