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Ahmad Massoud

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Not to be confused with his father Ahmad Shah Massoud or his uncles Ahmad Zia Massoud and Ahmad Wali Massoud.

Ahmad Massoud
Massoud in July 2019
Personal details
Born (1989-07-10) July 10, 1989 (age 35)
Warsaj District, Afghanistan
Parents
Alma materKing's College London
City, University of London
OccupationCEO of Massoud Foundation
Websitehttps://www.massoudfoundation.us/
Military service
Branch/serviceNational Front of Afghanistan
Years of service5 September 2019–present
Commands National Resistance Front of Afghanistan
Battles/warsPanjshir conflict

Ahmad Massoud (Dari/Pashto: احمد مسعود; born 10 July 1989) is an Afghan politician who is the founder of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan. He is the son of anti-Soviet military leader Ahmad Shah Massoud. He was appointed as the Massoud Foundation's CEO in November 2016.[1] On 5 September 2019, he was declared his father's successor at his mausoleum in the Panjshir Valley.[2]

Early life and education

Ahmad Massoud was born in 1989.[3] He is the only son and the oldest of Ahmad Shah Massoud's six children.[4]

After finishing his secondary school education in Iran, Massoud spent a year on a military course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.[5] In 2012, he commenced an undergraduate degree in War Studies at King's College London, where he obtained his bachelor's degree in 2015. He obtained his master's degree in International Politics from City, University of London in 2016.[6][7][8] His undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation topics were the Taliban.[9]

Career

Massoud returned to Afghanistan and was appointed CEO of the Massoud Foundation in 2016.[4][10]

Since March 2019, Massoud has officially entered politics, a widely anticipated move for one referred to in Panjshir as the "predestined."[11][12][13][14][15] He has endorsed his father's idea of a Swiss model for internal power relations in Afghanistan, saying that the decentralization of government and the de-concentration of power from Kabul would give a more efficient allocation of resources and authority to provinces in the country, thereby bringing prosperity and stability to the country as a whole.[16][17][18]

Massoud objected to the direction of the Afghan peace process in 2019, which he believed did not represent the interests of all Afghans. In September of that year, he announced the creation of a new coalition of mujahideen leaders modeled on the Northern Alliance that resisted the Taliban in the 1990s.[19] The coalition, known as the Second Resistance or National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, became one of several independent military forces built up ahead of the United States military withdrawal.[20][21] After most of the country surrendered to the Taliban during its 2021 offensive, Massoud and First Vice President Amrullah Saleh met in Panjshir and declared their rejection of Taliban rule. He appealed in the American press for military and logistical support for his forces. Among other reasons, he listed the need to protect women's rights, prevent public executions, and avoid the return of a safe haven in Afghanistan for international terrorists.[22]

On 22 August 2021, he warned of a potential civil war if there is not a power-sharing agreement and said that war was "unavoidable" under those circumstances, saying "We defeated the Soviet Union, we can defeat the Taliban".[23] He has founded the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) which has thousands of fighters. Massoud has asked the U.S., France and others in Europe and the Arab world to support the NRF.[24] He has also stated his desire to negotiate with the Taliban, but that if talks fail he is ready for a military confrontation.[25]

On 6 September, with the Taliban taking full control of the Panjshir Valley, Massoud moved to an unknown location and said the resistance will continue.[26][27]

See also

References

  1. ^ "گفت و گو با فرزند احمدشاه مسعود؛ "عملیات ما برای ادبیات‌مان است"". www.teribon.ir. 24 February 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "Ahmad Massoud Declared As His Father's Successor". TOLOnews.
  3. ^ He was mentionned as 27 years old in "Ahmad Massoud, l'héritier du lion" [Ahmad Massoud, the Heir of the Lion] (in French). 9 September 2016.
  4. ^ a b "'My father was the first to negotiate with the Taliban'". TRT World. 3 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Son of slain Afghan resistance hero Ahmad Shah Massoud enters political fray". www.rfi.fr. 6 September 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ "Son of famed Afghan commander Massoud steps into spotlight". The Straits Times. 28 August 2019.
  7. ^ Anne Chaon (1 September 2016). "Lion of Panjshir's son ready to take up his Afghan destiny". Yahoo.com. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  8. ^ AFP (1 September 2016). "Lion of Panjshir: Ahmad Shah Masood's son ready to take up his Afghan destiny – The Express Tribune". Tribune.com.pk. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  9. ^ Casey, John (28 August 2021). "Meeting Ahmad Massoud, the Sandhurst graduate taking on the Taliban". The Spectator. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  10. ^ Malejacq, Romain (15 January 2020). Warlord Survival: The Delusion of State Building in Afghanistan. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9781501746437 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ Biloslavo, Fausto. "The Return of the Lion of Panjshir". InsideOver.
  12. ^ "Heir to Lion of Panjshir returns to reunite his father's followers" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  13. ^ Meuse, Alison Tahmizian (5 September 2019). "Afghanistan: Ahmad Massoud seizes father's torch". Asia Times.
  14. ^ "Taliban seeks to share power in Afghanistan's government, but will ethnic groups approve?". PBS NewsHour. 14 December 2019.
  15. ^ Glasse, Jennifer (11 September 2019). "Son of famed Afghan resistance fighter launches new political movement". CBC.
  16. ^ "Ahmad Massoud: Decentralization is the Solution". www.thenationalnews.com. 3 July 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ "What Is Missing From Afghan Peace Talks". New York Times.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ "Son of slain Afghan commander Massoud warns of 'civil war' if US troops leave hastily". www.france24.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ^ Glasse, Jennifer (11 September 2019). "Son of famed Afghan resistance fighter launches new political movement". CBC News. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  20. ^ Zucchino, David; Fazi, Fatima (24 June 2021). "Attacked and Vulnerable, Some Afghans Are Forming Their Own Armies". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  21. ^ Behzan, Frud (12 August 2021). "Afghanistan's Anti-Taliban Stronghold Gears Up For New Fight Against Militants". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Radio Azadi. Retrieved 17 August 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ Massoud, Ahmad (18 August 2021). "Opinion: The mujahideen resistance to the Taliban begins now. But we need help". www.washingtonpost.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ^ Beaumont, Peter (22 August 2021). "Afghan civil war 'unavoidable' if Taliban refuse talks, says opposition leader". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  24. ^ Duncan, Conrad (26 August 2021). "Who is Ahmad Massoud, the man building an anti-Taliban resistance in Afghanistan?". The Independent. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  25. ^ Mackenzie, James (22 August 2021). "Anti-Taliban leader Massoud wants to talk but ready to fight". Reuters. Retrieved 22 August 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ^ Pannett, Rachel (6 September 2021). "Panjshir Valley, last resistance holdout in Afghanistan, falls to the Taliban". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  27. ^ https://www.indiablooms.com/world-details/SA/31147/afghanistan-ahmad-massoud-says-he-is-alive-and-resistance-will-continue.html
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