DUBAI: Ahmad Massoud, the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was one of the main leaders of Afghanistan’s anti-Soviet resistance in the 1980s, said he will not surrender areas under his control to the Taliban, Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV channel cited him as saying on Sunday.
Massoud was given four hours to give up Panjshir valley, north of Kabul, where the 32-year-old and self-proclaimed President Amrullah Saleh are in present.
“We confronted the Soviet Union, and we will be able to confront the Taliban,” Massoud told Al Arabiya.
The TV channel also quoted him as saying he is “ready to forgive the Taliban for killing his father if the conditions for peace and security in Afghanistan are met”.
Massoud called for a comprehensive government to rule the country with the participation of the Taliban, adding that war will be “unavoidable” if the Taliban refuse dialogue, Al Arabiya said.
Massoud said government forces opposed to the Taliban have rallied from different provinces and gathered in the Panjshir valley stronghold.
In a Washington Post opinion piece published on Thursday, he appealed to the West for support.
