Educated in Iran and Britain, his vision for Afghanistan is modelled on Switzerland, a decentralised country with regional autonomy for ethnic groups
AHMAD MASOUD has spent years stockpiling weapons; he had a feeling this day might come. Mr Masoud leads a group of armed rebels from Panjshir, a tiny mountainous province 70km north of Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, that has never succumbed to invaders. It is, for now, the only part of the country not under. But the jihadists are on their way. If they come without weapons, he says, they may enter to negotiate peace. But if they arrive with guns they will meet resistance.
Ahmad Masoud, the son, was born in Afghanistan in 1989, the year the Soviets withdrew. He was educated in Iran and in Britain, where he spent a year at the Sandhurst officer-training academy and earned degrees in war studies and international politics in London. His vision for Afghanistan is modelled on Switzerland, a decentralised country with regional autonomy for ethnic groups.
The populations of Panjshir and its neighbouring provinces are dominated by ethnic Tajiks while the Taliban are predominantly Pashtuns. As the Taliban swept across Afghanistan in recent months they made sure to take the less welcoming northern provincial capitals first in order to minimise any resistance. But their earlier-than-planned capture of Kabul has left them stretched. Returning to Panjshir will make them even more so.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
America Must Save Afghan Refugees From The TalibanHaving made the decision to withdraw, the Biden administration must fulfill an obligation to those abandoned to the Taliban.
Read more »
Military aircraft with Afghan evacuees arrives in South KoreaNearly 400 evacuated Afghans arrived on Thursday in Seoul, where the government said it was amending the law to allow long-term stays for those who worked on South Korean projects in Afghanistan before the Taliban seized power this month.
Read more »
Kamala Harris says evacuating Americans, Afghan allies is Biden admin's 'highest priority'Vice President Kamala Harris said evacuating Americans and U.S. allies in Afghanistan is the administration’s 'highest priority' while answering reporters’ questions in Vietnam on Thursday.
Read more »
'My Culture and My memories Are Being Erased': A Young Afghan Woman on Her Country's FutureIn this first-person account, a young Afghan woman shares her fears for her family's safety and her country's future.
Read more »
Afghan bank system in 'collapse' amid doubts on Taliban's grasp of financeWith no significant exports apart from illegal narcotics bringing in cash in Afghanistan, one immediate obstacle is liquidity that is heavily dollarised and relies on regular physical dollar-shipments that've been halted, says ex-central bank chief.
Read more »
Afghan baby born on flight as her mom fled is named for U.S. evacuation planeAfghan baby born on U.S. evacuation flight is named after the plane's call sign.
Read more »