Who is Ahmad Massoud? All About the son of Lion of Panjshir and leader of NRFA

About 150 kilometres north of the capital of Afghanistan, laying in the laps of humongous Hindu Kush mountains, the Panjshir valley of heroes continues to hold out against the terror spewing Taliban that has taken to claiming control over the whole of Afghanistan. Set in the home to the Tajiks, the Panjshir Offensive of 1985 had proven to be too formidable for the Soviets then, and now it continues to give the Taliban a bloody nose. It was then Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Lion of Panjshir who led the Tajiks, and now it is his son Ahmad Massoud. But who is Ahmad Massoud and how is it that he continues to fight back the army of over 75,000 Taliban terrorists? Let's take a look: 

Ahmad Massoud: Son of 'Lion of Panjshir' takes forward father's anti-Taliban legacy 

Leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA), Ahmad Massoud is the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud who was assassinated on September 9, 2001, by the hands of Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Following in the footsteps of his father, Massoud has gathered fighters in the Panjshir Valley who continue to take on the Taliban. Further, with his troops coming under heavy attack and responding in kind, Massoud has called for all the people of Afghanistan to join hands against the Taliban and said “resistance has just begun” as “surrender is not a part of his vocabulary”.

Born in 1989, Massoud Junior is the only son and eldest of Shah Massoud's six children. Massoud completed his secondary school education in Iran and spent a year on a military course at the famed Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, in the UK. He pursued his undergraduate degree in War Studies from King's College London in 2015. In 2016, he obtained his master's degree in International Politics from the City University of London. Massoud's graduate programme dissertation topic was the 'Taliban'. He returned to Afghanistan in 2016 and was appointed as CEO of the Massoud Foundation.

Massoud Junior, that is Ahmed Massoud, officially entered politics in 2019 and endorsed his father's ideology of a Swiss Model of power relations in Afghanistan. According to him, 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. 

'Stand with us, raise your voice': Massoud to Afghans

In a recent audio message, as the Taliban falsely claimed he'd fled Panjshir, Massoud called for a national uprising against the insurgents and the Pakistani elements who have joined them. He further said that the Taliban has not changed and but has become "far more radical than in the past." He has also asked for support from the international community. With Ahmad Massoud, the resistance remains alive - the question remains, will Afghanistan answer his call?

(Image Credits: AHMADMASSOUD/FACEBOOK/REPUBLIC)