Ahmed Shah Massoud

Born:	2 September 1953 Panjshir, Afghanistan
Died:	9 September 2001 Takhar, Afghanistan
Occupation:	Commander of Mujahidin and Minister of Defense after the Soviet-Afghan War
Website:	http://www.ahmadshahmassoud.com

Ahmed Shah Massoud (احمد شاه مسعود) (c. September 2, 1953–September 9, 2001) (variant transliterations include Ahmad, Masood, etc.) was a Kabul University engineering student turned Afghan military leader who played a leading role in driving the Soviet army out of Afghanistan, earning him the nickname Lion of Panjshir. Image File history File links Ahmad_shah_massoud_3. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years). ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Afghanistan. ... Panjshir province is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. ... September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ... This article is about the year 2001. ... Takhar province is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. ... The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a 10-year war which wreaked incredible havoc and destruction on Afghanistan. ... September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ... This article is about the year 2001. ... Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system. ... Kabul University is located in Kabul, Afghanistan and was founded 1931, opened 1932 and formally established in 1947. ... The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (in Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya), the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ... Panjshir province is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. ...

Massoud was an ethnic Tajik who was charismatic and respected by a faction of the Afghan population. His supporters call him "National Hero". In the early 1990s he became Defence Minister under President Burhanuddin Rabbani's regime. Following the collapse of Rabbani's government and the rise of the Taliban regime, Massoud became the military leader of the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan. As the Taliban established control over most of Afghanistan, Massoud's forces were increasingly forced into the mountainous areas of the north, where they controlled some 10% of the country's territory and perhaps 30% of its population until 2001. Massoud was assassinated in September 2001. By the order of Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, Ahmad Shah Massoud was named "National Hero" the following year in 2002. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Flag flown by the Taliban. ... Flag flown by the UIF. The United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (UIF, Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islami-yi Milli bara-yi Nijat-i Afghanistan), also known as the Northern Alliance (term used by the Western media, Taliban and Al-Qaeda), was a military-political umbrella organization of... Hamid Karzai (Pashto: حامد کرزي, Persian: حامد کرزی) (b. ...

Early life

Ahmad Shah Massoud was born September 2, 1953 in Jangalak, Panjshir Valley, the son of police commander Dost Mohammad Khan. At the age of five, he started grammar school at Bazarak and stayed there until second grade. Since his father was promoted to be police chief of Herat, he attended 3rd and 4th grade at the Mowaffaq School in Herat. He also got religious education at the so-called "Masjed-e-Jame" mosque in Herat. Later his father was moved to Kabul so he attended intermediate and senior grades at the Isteqlaal School in Kabul. Since his childhood, he was considered exceedingly talented; from 10th grade on his school acknowledged his being a particularly gifted student. His native tongue was Persian (Dari), but he was also fluent in French [1], Pashto, and Urdu. Furthermore, he had a good working knowledge of the Arabic language. Massoud: "For me, North, South, Persian, Pashto is absolutely meaningless. In our home, we can talk in every language."^{[citation needed]} Bazarak (persian: بازارک) is the capital of Panjshir Province, in Afghanistan. ... Court of the Friday Mosque in Herāt. ... Dari is a term used to denote one of several closely related Persian dialects spoken in what used to be Greater Khorasan: The official name for the Persian language in Afghanistan; see Dari (Afghanistan) One name used by Zoroastrians (the others being Gabri and Yazdi) to refer to the Northwestern... Pashto (پښتو; also known as Afghan, Pushto, Pashto, Pashtoe, Pashtu, and Pukhto) is the language spoken by the ethnic Afghan otherwise known as the Pashtun people who inhabit Afghanistan and the Western provinces of Pakistan. ... (اردو) is an Indo-Aryan language of the Indo-Iranian branch, belonging to Indo-European family of languages. ... Arabic ( or just ), is the largest member of the family of Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic. ...

The Soviet War

Massoud went to Nooristan (Nuristan) and other areas where the war had just started. He wanted to find out about the Afghanis opinion regarding the war against the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. As soon as he was sure about their determination he departed with a group of 20 young men to Panjshir in 1979. Still not sufficiently armed Massoud and his troops marched on to Panjshir, Massoud’s home. Their enemy was a superpower and those who were weak or required help had to be protected; especially one’s own family. Nurestan or Nuristan or Nooristan (Persian: ‎) formerly Kafiristan is a region in Afghanistan and Pakistan. ... Nurestan Province (also spelled Nuristan) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. ... This article is about Communist rule in Afghanistan (1978-1992), which is separate, although slightly so, from the Soviet war in Afghanistan. ...

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, prime minister of Pakistan, armed Massoud and many other Afghan leaders to fight against the Afghan government with support from the United States. Again, an armed insurrection in Panjsher took place, this time under Massoud's leadership. The fight lasted 40 days, during which the whole Panjshir, Salang, and Bola Ghain were in open revolt against Kabul. After these 40 days Massoud's leg was injured and the troops under his command had no more weapons and ammunition. Despite 600 relief fighters from Nooristan, the government troops finally defeated them. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Urdu: ذوالفقار علی بھٹو, Sindhi: ذوالفقار علي ڀُٽو) (January 5, 1928 – April 4, 1979) was a Pakistani politician who served as the President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and as the Prime Minister from 1973 to 1977. ... The Prime Minister of Pakistan (Wazir-e- Azam in Urdu)is the Head of Government of Pakistan. ... Salang is the name of several locations: Afghanistan Salang mountains Salang tunnel Salang pass Salang river Salang district of Parwan province Salang, Malaysia, a tourist village, bay, and beach at Tioman Island Salang, Indonesia, a tourist village, swamp south of the Sulu Sea Salang, Thailand, a tourist village for scuba... Kabul, Kâbl (locally: کابل), is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan with a population of approximately 3 million people. ...

Massoud went back to Panjshir. On pondering the outcome of the fight, Massoud decided to wage guerrilla war. Massoud is credited with having achieved control of terrain that was much more difficult to defend militarily and was under constant attack from the Soviet-Afghan Army. From that time on Massoud's name was inseparably connected with the Panjshir, he proved to be the resistance fighter in history against the Red Army. He became the Lion of Panjsher. Many people simply called him Amer Sahib (Commander) to express their affection as well as their respect. In 1979, when his leg was severely wounded, Massoud’s resistance fighters were sieged by government troops, but he managed a narrow escape. In 1983 Soviet special troops had blocked the way out of the mountain tunnel near Malaspa in Panjshir. However, Massoud and his men managed a breakthrough and could slip away without attracting the Soviets attention. One of most notable of Massoud's military tactics in the Panjshir was his tendency to perform shocking manoeuvres against the Red Army. While the Red Army always outnumbered Massoud's men, they could never inflict enough damage on his forces or establish a prolonged presence because they would usually be forced by their respective governments to retreat.

In 1983 and 1984 there was a ceasefire between Massoud and the Red Army.For which most afghan consider him a traitor.General Gramov, commander of ex-soviet invading army in Afghanistan, has revealed that present leader of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan Ahmad Shah Masoud had inked an agreement with Moscow that ensured safe passage to the former USSR troops through Salang and Panjsher valleys during the Afghan jihad. He reveals that when the first Russian troops left Hairatan on Afghan-Uzbek border for Kabul via land route in 1980, the soviets feared that the passage of the army through Salang valley and high peaks of Panjsher valley which were manned by the mujahideen of Ahmad Shah Masoud was not only difficult but also almost impossible. The army of famed Jihadi commander Ahmad Shah Masoud, Gramov said, could convert the area into graveyard for the Russian troops by only throwing rocks. Gramov says at that critical time the then Khad chief Dr. Najibullah acted very shrewdly and contacted Ahmad Shah Masoud who demanded direct talks with the Russians. The Soviet General says they immediately met Masoud and signed an agreement with him that ensured safe passage of Russian army through the dangerous Salang and Panjsher valleys and thus onward to the southern, central and eastern Afghanistan. General Gramov says Ahmad Shah Masoud in return continued to get Russian assistance. He says Masoud sometimes used to stage sham skirmishes with the Russian to put off chances of suspicions about his activities among other mujahideen groups. He says the Soviets feared that Masoud would use the agreement for dishonest gains but he acted on the accord and avoided creating problems for the Russian army till its withdrawal in 1989. Gramov says differences between Ahmad Shah Masoud and Gulbuddin Hikmatyar dated back to their days at engineering faculty of Kabul University when both were members of an Islamic student organization. He says that besides being a high caliber military commander who never stayed for two days at a place, Masoud had a political mind. The Persian-speaking Afghans, Gramov says, consider Masoud as their leader and hero. Mining and export of the precious stones at Panjsher, he says, is major source of income for Masoud. He says Masoud had especial links with France where the press has helped him earn world fame. Gramov says Masoud leads his life in accordance with Islamic principles but according to Russians' reports he used to take liquor in the company of his close friends. Gramov further says that on the one hand Masoud had an agreement with the Russians for safe passage at Salang pass and on the other his military council Shura-i-Nazar, fought with them on many fronts in northern Afghanistan and killed many Russian troops. General Gramov says that in case of hard times his armies could contact the mujahideen in northern Afghanistan and struck a deal on the based of some give and take. However, he says in the eastern and southern Afghanistan where the Pukhtun were in majority such incidents were rare.

Civil War

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar placed Kabul under intensive rocket bombardment. Destruction went to the extent that daily up to 3,000 rockets were shot at Kabul, tens of thousands of civilians were murdered, and the city was nearly completely destroyed. After a series of negotiations in Kabul and in Peshawar, arranged by the power players of the Afghan Civil War - Pakistan, Saudi Arab and Iran - the warring factions failed to come to peace. Kabul, Kâbl (locally: کابل), is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan with a population of approximately 3 million people. ... Peshāwar (Pashto: پښور; Urdu:پشاور) literally means City on the Frontier in Persian and is known as Pakhawar in Pashto. ... The Afghan Civil War is a civil war that began in 1978 and has continued since, though it has included several distinct phases. ...

In July 2005, Human Rights Watch documented some of crimes committed in these years in a document and it concludes: "Ahmad Shah Massoud is implicated in many of the abuses documented in this report, both those committed by Jamiat forces, and those committed by other militia forces under his command." [2]

The Taliban

As Taliban took control of around 90% of Afghanistan, the warring factions had no choice but to form an alliance called the 'United Front for Afghanistan Libration'. Because most factions were from the north of Afghanistan, the Western media called them the 'Northern Alliance'. The alliance consisted of warlords and tribal leaders like Haji Rahim, Commander Piram Qol, Haji Mohammad Mohaqeq, General Dostum, Qazi Kabir Marzban, Commander Ata Mohammad and General Malek. From the east were Haji Abdul Qadir, Commander Hazrat Ali, Commander Jaan Daad Khan and Abdullah Wahedi. From the northeast areas, Commander Qatrah and Commander Najmuddin participated. From the southern provinces, there were Commander Qari Baba, Noorzai, and Hotak. From the western and southwest provinces came General Ismail Khan, Doctor Ibrahim, and Fazlkarim Aimaq. From central Afghanistan Commander Anwari, Said Hussein Aalemi Balkhi, Said Mustafa Kazemi, Akbari, Mohammad Ali Jawed, Karim Khaili, Commander Sher Alam, and Abdur Rassul Sayyaf were members of this union. The alliance consisted of warlords members from almost who had been ousted by the locals from all regions of Afghanistan.He was supported by India because of their rivarly with Pakistan, Iran because of their opposition to a Strong Sunni Taliban government , Russia and Tajikistan because of the growing Islamic movements in Chechenya and Central Asia.

Death

Massoud was the target of a suicide attack which occurred at Khvajeh Ba Odin on September 9, 2001, two days before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack in the United States, a timing considered significant by some commentators who believe Osama bin Laden ordered the assassination to ensure he would have the Taliban's protection and cooperation in Afghanistan. The attackers were two Arabs who claimed to be Belgians originally from Morocco. However their passports turned out to be stolen. According to some accounts they were posing as journalists, perhaps intending to attack several Northern Alliance council members simultaneously. The World Trade Center on fire The September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. ... Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: ‎; born March 10, 1957 [1]), most commonly known as Osama bin Laden is a militant Islamist and one of the founders of al-Qaeda. ...

They set off a bomb in either a video camera or a belt worn by one of the attackers. It appears that Massoud died within 30 minutes, although his death was denied until an official announcement that was made on September 13. The explosion also killed Mohammed Asim Suhail, a Northern Alliance official, while Mohammad Fahim Dashty and Massoud Khalili were injured. One of the attackers was killed by the explosion and the other was shot while trying to escape. Massoud Khalili was an Afghan advisor, schoolmate and close associate of Ahmed Shah Massoud. ...

The French secret service revealed October 16, 2003 that the camera used by Massoud's assassins had been stolen in December 2000 in Grenoble, France from a photojournalist, Jean-Pierre Vincendet, who was then working on a story on that city's Christmas store window displays. By tracing the serial number that appeared in the camera, the FBI was able to determine Vincendet as the original owner. The French secret service and the FBI then began working on tracing the route that the camera took between the time it was taken from Vincendet and the Massoud assassination.

After death

Massoud's tomb in Panjshir.

In 2001, the Afghan Interim Government under president Hamid Karzai awarded him the title of "Hero of the Afghan Nation". Massoud is the subject of Ken Follett's Lie Down With Lions, a novel about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Many documentaries, books and movies have been made about Ahmad Shah Massoud. Image File history File linksMetadata Massoud_Tomb. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Massoud_Tomb. ... Hamid Karzai (Pashto: حامد کرزي, Persian: حامد کرزی) (b. ... Ken Follett Ken Follett (born June 5, 1949) is a British author of thrillers and historical novels. ...

His life can be summarised by him being a true nationaloist for the cause of one section of the country but not patriotic, becaus he like the other warlords was power hungry and ultra nationalist by nature.

The Myth of a Lion

Massoud's nickname, the "Lion of Panjshir" is a rhyme and play on words in Persian, which alludes to the strength of his resistance against the Soviet Union, the mythological exaltation of the lion in Persian literature, and finally, the place name of the Panjshir Valley, where Massoud was born. The place name of "Panjshir" Valley in Persian means (Valley of the) Five Lions. Thus, the phrase "Lion of Panjshir" which in Persian is "Shir-e-Panjshir," is a rhyming play on words. Persian (local name: Fārsī or Pārsī) is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... Persian (local name: Fārsī or Pārsī) is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... Panjshir Valley was a very big battleground in Afghanistan from 1980 to 1988. ... Persian (local name: Fārsī or Pārsī) is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... Persian (local name: Fārsī or Pārsī) is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ...

External links

• Ahmed Shah Massoud (Domain registered only as of 26 September 2006)

• RadioLiberty: Profile ( Afghanistan's 'Lion Of Panjshir')

• Ahmad Shah Mas’ud (1953-2001)

• From Keesing's Worldwide Online: Afghanistan - Ahmed Shah Massoud

• An interview with commander Ahmed Shah Massoud

• The Last Interview with Ahmad Shah Massoud

• THOUGHTS ON COMMANDER MASSOUD (Prof. Michael Barry)

Ahmad Shah Massoud in Books

• Stephen Tanner: Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the Fall of the Taliban

• Christophe de Ponfilly: Massoud l'Afghan (in French)

• Steve Coll: Ghost Wars

• A. R. Rowan: On The Trail Of A Lion: Ahmed Shah Massoud, Oil Politics and Terror

• Ken Follett: Lie Down With Lions