- Ahmad Shah Massoud was assassinated 25 years ago.
- Ismail Khan urges Afghan patriots to unite to save Afghanistan.
- Massoud pursued dialogue before resuming resistance.
- AFF fighters attacked a Taliban outpost in Kapisa.
- The attack killed three Taliban members and wounded two.
KABUL: Former Afghan military officer, religious leader and politician Amir Mohammad Ismail Khan has called for continued resistance against the Taliban regime as Afghanistan marks the 25th anniversary of the assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud, widely known as the National Hero of Afghanistan.
In a statement marking the anniversary, Ismail Khan said Afghanistan continues to face “foreign conspiracies” as well as Taliban rule, urging the country’s patriotic forces to unite for its “salvation”.
“The strongholds of struggle and resistance must remain active against the Taliban’s ignorant and tyrannical rule,” he said.
He added that Afghanistan still faces foreign conspiracies and the ignorant and tyrannical rule of the Taliban, calling on patriots to remain determined to save the country and continue, in unity, the path and ideals of Massoud and other “martyrs of jihad and resistance”.
Ismail Khan described Massoud as a “brave comrade-in-arms and a principled, purposeful brother”, saying it was the responsibility of Afghanistan’s mujahideen, resistance fighters and activists to continue their struggle for Islam, freedom and the country’s independence while opposing extremism.
He also said Massoud initially sought to resolve Afghanistan’s crisis through reconciliation and dialogue based on justice after the Taliban emerged. According to Ismail Khan, when those efforts failed, Massoud continued his armed resistance against the Taliban.
Referring to Massoud’s earlier resistance against the former Soviet army, Ismail Khan said he had coordinated a significant part of the forces fighting the Soviet occupation.
Ismail Khan said Massoud devoted his life to establishing an Islamic and justice-oriented system based on the will of the Afghan people.
The anniversary comes amid continued armed opposition to Taliban rule, with the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) claiming an attack on a Taliban position in Kapisa province.
At around 8:00 pm on Wednesday, AFF fighters reportedly attacked a Taliban regime outpost stationed at the former Afghanistan National Army base in Tagab district of Kapisa.
Three Taliban regime members were killed, and two others were wounded in the attack.
The plot against Massoud
Ahmad Shah Massoud was assassinated on 9 September 2001 in Khwaja Bahauddin, Takhar province, by two suicide bombers posing as Arab journalists.
They gained access to Massoud by arranging an interview and concealed explosives in their camera equipment.
During the meeting, one of the attackers detonated the device at close range, critically wounding Massoud and killing one of his associates. Massoud was evacuated for medical treatment but died from his injuries.
The assassination was later linked to al-Qaeda, and its timing was striking: Massoud was killed just two days before the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States.
He was then the leading military commander of Afghanistan’s Northern Alliance and one of the Taliban’s most formidable opponents.
His assassination significantly weakened the anti-Taliban resistance leadership immediately before the dramatic events that changed Afghanistan and the wider region.
