Abdullah Abdullah, former chairman of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation, has described Ahmad Shah Massoud as a figure who worked to create unity and consensus among the country’s ethnic groups on the 25th anniversary of his assassination.
Abdullah Abdullah wrote on Wednesday, September 9, on his X account that Ahmad Shah Massoud had demonstrated through his words and actions that he stood alongside his people and his country.
He wrote: “The martyred Commander continued to place the collective interests above individual, group, and ethnic interests, with foresight and a deep sense of responsibility toward the people and the homeland.”
The former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation added that Ahmad Shah Massoud viewed division, fragmentation, and mistrust among ethnic groups as equivalent to the collective defeat of the people and the country.
According to Abdullah, Ahmad Shah Massoud worked “with patience and perseverance” until the end of his life to create unity and consensus among the ethnic groups living in Afghanistan.
Ahmad Shah Massoud, commander of the resistance front against the Taliban, was assassinated on September 9, 2001, two days before the September 11 attacks in the United States.
Two members of the al-Qaeda network who had presented themselves as journalists concealed explosives inside a video camera and detonated it during an interview with Ahmad Shah Massoud.
The previous Afghan government had included the anniversary of Ahmad Shah Massoud’s assassination in the country’s official calendar. However, after returning to power, the Taliban removed the occasion from the official calendar.
Under a decree issued by Hamid Karzai, the then president of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Massoud was given the title “National Hero of Afghanistan” in April 2002. The Emergency Loya Jirga also declared the anniversary of his assassination an official public holiday.
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