The son of revered Afghan resistance fighter Ahmad Shah Massoud says he wants to make his late father's goal of creating a moderate Afghan state a reality.
Ahmad Massoud stepped onto Afghanistan political stage to rally thousands of his late father’s supporters and launch a new movement against a resurgent Taliban and its extremist ideology.
In an interview with RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan, Ahmad Massoud warned against any peace deal with the Taliban and explained why he's following in his slain father's political footsteps to fight the group's extremist ideology.
“My father’s goal and desire was freedom, independence, justice, and establishing a moderate Islamic state,” Ahmad Massoud said, noting that he feels the responsibility to follow his late father’s dream.
Ahmad Massoud was 12 years old when his father, Ahmad Shah Massoud, known as “Lion of Panjshir,” was assassinated by Al-Qaeda sucide bombers.
Ahmad Shah Massoud was an Afghan military commander during Afghan-Soviet war and later on in the civil war afterwards. He became the leader of the Northern Alliance which allied with NATO during the war against the Taliban. He was assassinated on September 9, 2001, two days before the September 9/11 attacks in the US.
