MEPs table motion for resolution on inviting Ahmad Massoud to address European Parliament

In a big endorsement of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan on Tuesday, 20 MEPs tabled a motion for a resolution inviting Ahmad Massoud to address the European Council and the European Parliament. This motion pertaining to the current situation in Afghanistan was moved on behalf of Renew Europe which has a strength of 98 MEPs and will be put to vote on Thursday, September 16. Expressing its strong concern over the future of the war-torn country, it highlighted that the Taliban are depriving the Afghans of their "basic rights and freedoms".

Maintaining that the terrorist outfit had formed anything but an inclusive government, the motion argued against the recognition of the new regime in Afghanistan. Moreover, the political group not only acknowledged the resistance of the NRF in Panjshir but also accused Pakistan of "assisting the Taliban in fighting the NRF by supplying its special forces and providing air support". It added that Pakistan had also sheltered Taliban terrorists for many years. In wake of this, it linked the renewal of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus status to Pakistan based on its actions in Afghanistan. 

Here is the text of the motion in the European Parliament: 

Ahmad Massoud resists Taliban takeover

Ahmad Massoud is the son of late Afghan politician and military commander Ahmad Shah Massoud who is revered for his heroic fight against the Taliban. He was assassinated by suicide bombers on September 9, 2001, two days before the 9/11 terror attack. While Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani resigned and fled the country with his associates after the Taliban stormed into Kabul on August 15, the NRF under the leadership of Massoud and Afghanistan's 'caretaker' president Amrullah Saleh tried their best to prevent the terror group from capturing Panjshir. 

While Massoud urging the Western nations to supply them with arms and ammunition via an opinion piece in The Washington Post on August 18, his plea fell on deaf ears. On September 5, the NRF suffered a big setback after its spokesperson Fahim Dashty and General Sahib Abdul Wadood Zhor were killed during the fighting with the terrorist outfit. Even though the Taliban claimed that it had taken over the province on Monday, the NRF called upon people to continue their resistance. 

In an audio message posted on his Facebook page on September 6, Massoud expressed condolences with those martyred in the battle with the Taliban. Appealing for international support, he added, "Taliban have become more radical. Taliban are not Afghans, they are outsiders and work for outsiders and their mission is to keep the country isolated from the rest of the world. All Afghans should fight against the Taliban in any form possible. Resistance is still alive."