Ahmad Shah Massoud, A Legend or a Traitor?

Afghanistan after 1979 remained under the former U.S.S.R. invasion for about 9 years. The invasion of Afghanistan which took only a few hours of the Red Army to invade Afghanistan was seemed to be an easy military task for Russian invaders of that time. Russians entered from multiple self-made routes into northern international boundaries of Afghanistan. The entire military incursion was a success with an exception of a few incidents, from the Russian military prospective. International community was soon aware of the Russian violation of international norms and standards set by the United Nation Security Council and other prominent world organizations. Condemnations and diplomatic resistance to the invasion began amongst above named circles. Members of the United Nations member countries split on terms of a unilateral press release to condemn Russian actions in Afghanistan.

However, the entire effort of vocalizing Russian invasion of Afghanistan was fading away. In fact, Afghanistan was becoming another so call satellite state of Soviet Union. Despair seen among Afghans and Afghans’ sympathizer nations including the United States of America. In addition, there were not many options left to be done to revert the invasion.

While Afghanistan was sinking deeply into the grip of Russian Invasion, and the world lost interest in provoking optional elements including diplomatic efforts to convince the Russian to accept the United Nations decree of respecting the sovereignty of Afghanistan; a new movement browsed within Afghanistan. Russians started receiving casualties from apparently hidden or unknown enemy inside Afghanistan, according to Russians. As a matter of fact, Russians were assuming the American Special forces, or other military operatives are on the ground in Afghanistan fighting the Russian security forces. However, facts on the grounds were seemed to be explaining other type of resistance to the Russian Invasion, an Afghan resistance with no foreign military, logistics, or any other type of support.

For a while Russians tried to hide the Afghan resistant movement thinking that it would soon be collapsed or removed. But eventually, they accepted the fact that they are facing tough resistant in Afghanistan. Ahmad Shah Massuod was part of that internationally recognized resistance, while this resistance had a lot of other brave warriors in south and eastern Afghanistan as well. They kept launching attacks on Russian army basis, military posts, convoys and supply lines as hard as they have  managed to shake the Kremlin political skylines multiple times. Therefore, Russians have had to rethink about the resistance and make another way around it. Eventually Russians established an affirmative protocol line with Massoud's group of resistance since Massoud was in control of Russian military supply-line from Kabul to nearest Russian border, now known as the Tajikistan border. Deepening into the fact finding approach, a protocol with an invading enemy would be stumped as “traitor” by majority Afghans resisting the Russian invasion. However, from a military strategy, and military expertise, bearing in mind that Panjsher Valley was a very hard-to-live area, having such protocol would have been not as bad as other Afghans resumed Ahmad Shah Massoud as a “Traitor”. Nevertheless, this so called protocol with Russian battalions came after so many notorious incursions by Russian notorious Special Forces, severe casualties, with no success against Masoud’s resisting group in Panjsher Valley.

In fact, most of the above allegations are aimed at Masoud’s past resistance records by other War-lords such as Gul-baddin Hekmatyar and many more. Looking into the fact of these war-lords, who had been swiching their political sides with a flip of coin, was and is not as legitimate as A. Massoud's patriotic struggle in Afghanistan. Researching the overall facts, one should be convinced that Massoud was part of the collapse of Soviet Union, as well as many other brave Afghans in Central, Eastern, Western, and Southern Afghanistan. Each one of these legends has had a fair share of  pride for freeing Afghanistan from Russian Invasion. In regards to protocol, there is evidence of many prisoner exchanges occurred between Russian Special Forces and Kandahar Resistance War-lords in 1980s, if protocol in order to establish better strategy was betraying Afghanistan, then all type of military contacts including prisoner-exchange in Kandahar should be called betraying Afghanistan or “traitors” as well.

Ahmad Shah Massoud, comparing to other prominent Afghan, so called “Commanders”, was smarter, progressive, and had managed to establish a legitimate channel with Friendly countries such as France. He remained loyal to his Friends during his entire militant and political struggle. He was very hospitable and accommodating when it would come to receiving foreign dignitaries, and visiting friends. Unfortunately, this widely known Afghan tradition (hospitality) became his final appearance with a visiting (supposed to be) dignitary.

I also bear in mind that there is an assumption circulating in Southern Afghan communities (Pashtoons), that A. Massoud was promoting ethnic cleansing, had a Tajik agenda for unifying non-Pashtoons against any pashtoon dominance, or majority. He is also accused of being fascist and promoting Maoist ideology in northern parts of Afghanistan. In some terms, he is also accused of stealing precious stones mined in Panjsher Valley, and surrounding areas.
As a Pashtoon, I have carefully researched above and similar matters and my findings are completely free of any type of influence, except my conscious and freedom of thoughts and mind.
I have found that Massoud may have said some words pointing out to the brutality of Southern tribal pashtons during the Upraising of Amir Habibullah or before that. However, he was never involved in wasting his time on organizing a motion or movement against the pashtoon ethnicity. I should also do not forget that A. Massoud was surrounded by elements who were fully engaged in creating such ethnic divisions; but, A. Massoud proven to be against such violence and agenda. In regards to precious stones stolen and sold to other countries, I will leave the matter to a financial research and investigation group by either Afghan government or an International research group. However, the income and revenue of such undercover business was not as much as the Taliban collected or still collecting from illegal Opium trade in South-, and South-western Afghanistan.

On the contrary, those who opposed A. Massoud in 1990s during the street-to-street wars of Kabul city, have always brought up such allegations in order to attract the entire Pashtoon majority joining the fight against A. Massoud. This REVERSE RACISM was pushed severely by Gulbaddin Hekmatyaar, and the Taliban movement amongst Pasthoons ethnic tribes. Ahmad Shah Massoud never lacked the backing of Pashtoon Leaders and people. I am sure my readers who have spent time or were close to A. Massoud may confirm my words. A. Massoud had established a very good friendship bonds with few Pashtoon Leaders in Eastern Afghanistan, as well as in Kandahar, South-western Afghanistan, where lays the hub of Pahstoon ethnicity.
I do reserve the right to comment on the disappearance of 200-300 teachers and students in late 1970s, and early 1980s, in the Panjsher Valley. These students and teachers were accused of being atheists and had organized a movement which was a complex of communism, atheism, and Maoism. The entire movement has either subdued or removed from the Panjsher Valley soon after A. Massoud was newly became the leader of his hometown Panjsher Valley. There are many other human rights allegations aimed at A. Massoud and the entire Afghan political structure and leadership in post-Russian Afghanistan.

The concluding point is, that A. Massoud had bravely faught against Russian and terrorist invaders. He remained defiant against all type of intimations. His commitment to resist the home based invasion backed by Pakistani intelligence Agency set a patron of information for Afghanistan that Afghanistan’s neighboring nation from the East-to-South, is out on full scale to bring Afghanistan to its non-existence. He was a smart, active, progressive, and a patriotic Afghan. He had an agenda that was based on equal rights and equal opportunity for everyone. In a volatile post-Russian Afghanistan, any Afghan leader could fail to fulfill the national (Afghans) and international demands while in the power. Unfortunately, not only A. Massoud, but many other known LEADERS were accused of becoming short when we speak about human rights and other violations. But, let’s not forget that one may doubt the Ahmad Shah Massoud’s past due to certain reasons, but there is no doubt that Ahmad Shah Massoud died a death of a legendary Afghan by a foreign invading terrorist organization. May he rest in peace! Amen