“When I was invited to Belgium, I responded positively for several reasons,” says Ahmad Massoud who welcomes us in a Brussels hotel.

“First, it is the capital of Europe. Second, it reminded me that my father was once invited by the European Union, even though it was not to Brussels. Third, I want to convey a message to the families of those two people who came – claiming to be journalists but actually members of al-Qaeda – to assassinate my father. You assassinated Ahmad Shah Massoud, but millions of people were following his path and millions of Massouds were born and fought for their liberty, and we continue his way.”

“You assassinated Ahmad Shah Massoud, but millions of people were following his path.”

Ahmad Massoud leads the National Resistance Front (NRF) of Afghanistan. He is the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the late revolutionary commander known as “The Lion of Panjshir”, the national hero of Afghanistan. He was assassinated by two Belgian suicide bombers posing as journalists in Khajwa Bahawuddin district of Takhar in Afghanistan in 2001, just two days before the attacks on New York and Washington. Ahmad Massoud was born in July 1989 in a small town called Piyu in the northeastern Afghan province of Takhar.

In order to fight for liberty and freedom after the Taliban seized power, Ahmad Massoud established the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021. He ardently appealed to the international community to impose sanctions on the Taliban, support their rivals on the political front, and strive for a practical resolution to the Afghanistan issue. He also asked nations in the region to increase their involvement in crafting a political solution.

“Lionesses resist”

Massoud says, “I believe that, like everyone in my country, I also have a responsibility to stand up and make an effort to defend my people. When the Taliban does not respect human rights values, such as the rights of women, girls, freedoms, and ethnic groups, we should stand with the people. Because the only way to defend the people of this land is through struggle and resistance. When these ‘lionesses resist’ in different ways, it motivates us, and we are proud of them, and I stand by them.”

He adds that dialogue, negotiation, and compromise are all positive things, but only if a group like the Taliban is honest and has good intentions. For example, the Taliban exploited the concept of negotiation as a cover for their deception of the public and the rest of the world.

Massoud recalled the Doha peace talks between the United States of America and the Taliban. “The Doha negotiations with the Taliban were in front of our eyes, and the outcome was clear to all of us. The most crucial question was whether the parties would actually follow through on their pledges and put them into practice. The Taliban broke their pledge and fooled not just the people of Afghanistan but the entire globe. The people have lost their trust and their belief in the Taliban.”

We should pay more attention to these important issues associated with universal values, he says. The Taliban should create an inclusive government. “When we see these policies in action, we will respond to their invitation. Otherwise, it is not right to trust a group that has shown its intentions several times. Last year, they held a big Loya Jirga [council of leaders], but even if such jirgas were held every year, it would not cure the pain. And do the numbers, of about 4 to 5,000 people, who participate in the Jirga represent all the 40 million citizens of Afghanistan? Are people’s wishes considered in this Jirga? Will any women participate in it? While serious and important issues are not addressed in these jirgas, the problem will not be solved.”

In a fair and equal manner

The leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan said that Ahmad Shah Massoud had believed that political legitimacy comes from “the people”, and his vision for Afghanistan as a religiously, ethnically, and linguistically diverse country was the foundation of a pluralistic and decentralized system, where power is distributed among citizens in a fair and equal manner.

“This threat is not limited to the borders of Afghanistan.”

Ahmad Massoud says that if the international community ignores the threat of terrorism and extremism in Afghanistan it will have bad results, and this threat is not limited to the borders of Afghanistan but will penetrate the whole world. In 2001, during his visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, his father Ahmad Shah Massoud also gave a warning to the world – especially to the United States government – that al-Qaida was very dangerous.

Massoud insists that the Taliban should show in practice that they respect all their promises in Doha. It is better to fulfill the demands of the people and the international community. They must accept the values of human rights, especially women’s rights, education, and freedom. Despite the general amnesty, political prisoners and former military personnel are still imprisoned. Brave girls and women, civil society activists, and politicians should be released.

The world calls on the Taliban to respect human rights, and media freedom and open the doors of schools and universities for women. “We do not only want the gates to open for girls, but we want a good curriculum in schools, and we also want a standardized system of education for all sectors, including schools and universities. At the same time, women should be allowed to go to work and participate in political and economic society”. He mentioned that.

“My vision for Afghanistan is a nation where people have equal access to wealth and power, where people are free.”

Massoud said the people of Afghanistan have suffered for four decades, and they deserve peace. The most essential thing is to work toward peace and negotiate to find a way to avoid bloodshed and violence. However, achieving peace does not entail giving up and allowing injustice and inequality to persist in Afghanistan. We should recognize the equality of men and women. We can progress toward a settlement that is agreeable to everyone if the Taliban are willing to come to a decentralized power-sharing accord. If not, we will keep up the fight until everyone in Afghanistan is given the opportunity to live in justice, equality, and freedom.

“My vision for Afghanistan is a nation where people have equal access to wealth and power, where people are free to exercise all of their civil liberties, where social justice is established, where rationalist Islam is reborn, where political and cultural plurality is encouraged, and where democracy will be upheld. I think there is still hope that all of this will be accomplished in the future and that the resistance will be able to fulfill my father’s vision for Afghanistan by announcing a new movement of resistance against Taliban rule and issuing a strong call for a free, democratic Afghanistan that is inclusive of all ethnicities and tribes.” Ahman Massoud said.