23 August,2021 09:53 AM IST | New Delhi | IANS
Photo for representational purpose. Pic/AFP
Panjshir valley will not be handed over to the Taliban and resistance fighters will be ready to fight back if the extremist group tries to seize it, the son of one of the main leaders of Afghanistan's anti-Soviet resistance in the 1980s.
"We confronted the Soviet Union, and we will be able to confront the Taliban," Ahmad Massoud, the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, told Al Arabiya.
The Taliban told Massoud he had four hours to give up Panjshir valley, north of Kabul, where the 32-year-old and Vice President of Afghanistan Amrullah Saleh are holed up.
Massoud said he would not surrender areas under his control to the Taliban.
ALSO READ
Taliban's repression of women in Afghanistan is outrageous: UN rights chief
Afghanistan's London embassy to close after its diplomats were disowned by Taliban
UN will continue to engage the Taliban in Afghanistan despite new laws restricting women
Germany deports 28 Afghan migrants to their homeland
Germany deports 28 Afghan nationals to their homeland, the first since the Taliban takeover in 2021
However, he told Al Arabiya he was ready to forgive the Taliban for killing his father if the conditions for peace and security in Afghanistan are met.
Also read: All roads deserted in Kabul except one leading to airport: Reports
His father was killed just days before the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US by al-Qaeda militants who enjoyed Afghan sanctuary under Taliban rule. Ahmad Shah Massoud's name continues to carry huge weight both in Afghanistan and around the world.
In a Washington Post editorial, Ahmad Massoud said members of the Afghan military had rallied to his cause ahead of the Taliban's seizure of the country "because we knew this day might come".
"We have stores of ammunition and arms that we have patiently collected since my father's time," he said in the editorial, adding that some of the forces who had joined him had brought their weapons.
"If Taliban warlords launch an assault, they will of course face staunch resistance from us," he said.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
