Resistance to Taliban “spreads” in Afghanistan: “People are not going to accept this ultra-conservative version of Islamic law”

Resistance “goes far” in Afghanistan faced with the isolation of the Taliban from the rest of the population due to their conservative and non-modern ideologyAhmad Wali Massoud, the brother of the late commander Ahmed Shá Massoud, a recognized figure in the anti-Taliban struggle, said Wednesday.

“The beliefs of the Afghan people have changed over the past 20 years. Afghan women want to live, to work. Young people live in a different world, not that of the Taliban. The Taliban are now the most isolated group “ of the country, said Massoud, interviewed by the agency AFP in Paris, where he is visiting.

“People think the Afghans are backward, that they are going to accept the Taliban version of ‘sharia’, but they are no longer.” added Commander Massoud’s brother.

“Resistance has spread throughout Afghanistan”He continued. And this resistance is not limited “to the only military framework”, he added.

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15, after taking Kabul. They say they are more moderate than in 1996-2001, when their ultraconservative regime was particularly brutal against women and the Shiite Hazara minority.

Recently a National Resistance Front (FNR), the main opposition group to the Taliban, in the Panshir valley, northeast of Kabul. It is led by Ahmad Massoud, son of the famous commander and nephew of Ahmad Wali, who asked Western countries to help him arm his men.

“The international community has a moral obligation to help us», Reiterated Ahmad Wali Massoud, in particular to protect himself from the expansion of« terrorist forces »in Afghanistan under the aegis of the Taliban.

Faced with this situation, the main spokesperson for the Taliban, Zabihulla Mujahid, assured this Tuesday during the second press conference granted by the extremist group since the capture of Kabul on August 15, that his priority is to dialogue with Massoud.

“We are really seriously trying. We are 80% sure that the situation will be under control, that there will be no fighting, and we assure the brothers who are there in Panjshir, that we (will welcome) them with open arms when Come back to Kabul and we can live together as brothers, ”Mujahid said.

The spokesperson insisted that they “try to solve it” and “talk”, since their policy is to “end the war”: “We don’t want any kind of war or fighting in Afghanistan.”

However, the Taliban had argued in recent days that They have already besieged the province, located north of Kabul, although Massoud’s troops claimed that the insurgents are only “in a few areas outside of Panjshir, not in the whole province”.

“My father has always spoken with his enemies but I will never accept an imposed peace for the sole purpose of bringing stability”said in an interview with French writer and philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy for the gala magazine Paris Match Ahmad Massoud |

Ahmad Shah Massoud’s son was declared on legitimate successor of the “Lion of Panjshir” by hundreds of resistance fighters, during a ceremony organized two years ago in the province.

(With AFP, EFE information)

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