Kabul, Resistance leader Ahmad Massoud on Monday appealed to Afghans in the country and abroad to “rise up against a crippling humiliation being brought on us today by foreigners” and said that the world is under the mistaken belief that the Taliban have reformed, but in reality they have “grown more vicious, more cruel, more fundamentalist and more discriminatory”.
In a video message from his hideout in the mountains of Panjshir, after the Taliban declared victory in the province, Massoud also said that Sunday’s attack on the Resistance “revealed once again that foreign mercenaries supporting the Taliban have always existed. They did so in the past, and will continue in the future.”
In the message that was later translated into English, Massoud also said that they will watch to see which country stands with the Resistance movement to see who are “the true friends of Afghanistan in this critical moment”.
Offering his condolences to the families of the Resistance members who were killed in the fighting, Massoud said that on Sunday after the National Resistance Front declared its full support to the resolution by the council of Ulemas calling for cessation of hostilities, the Taliban “revealed their true nature” by ditching the resolution’s demand.
“Contrary to their claims the Taliban showed that they do not believe in Sharia, they do not believe in the Quran, and they do not bow down to the legitimate demands of the Ulema of Afghanistan. Exactly after the resolution, they began a full-scale military offensive on our people which led to numerous victims, among them my close family members.”
He said that the death of their compatriots “does not weaken and demoralise us”. “We have seen martyrdoms before and shall continue to do in our struggle.”
He said that the events of the past few days “are but minor instances of the future image in store for Afghanistan's future, a future in which foreigners through their henchmen, through their sell-outs and stooges, want to force on our country.
“That image will consist of an Afghanistan that is kept backward, ridden with obscurantism, bereft of civilization and art, devoid of unity and solidarity, and a country that is forced into economic and political isolation. A country that will be brought under crushing control, which will not have independent relations with the world, whose life will be monitored by foreigners.”
“Yesterday’s attack revealed once again that foreign mercenaries supporting the Taliban have always existed. They did so in the past, and will continue in the future.”
In a message to fellow Afghans he said “Wherever you are, whether inside the country or outside, we appeal to you to rise up in resistance for the dignity, integrity and freedom of our country. Whatever means at your disposal, rise up against a crippling humiliation being brought on us today by foreigners! We, the NRF will stand firmly with you.”
“Stand up and seize the moment and accept our call for resistance,” he appealed.
In his message to the international community, he said: “The international community was fully responsible for providing the Taliban with the ruinous opportunity that helped them gain political legitimacy and entitlement.
“They were given the chance to show the world that they have reformed and changed. Whereas the Taliban have not only remained the same, but have grown more vicious, more cruel, more fundamentalist and more discriminatory that yesterday. We are bearing witness to this.”
Asking nations to support the Resistance, he said: “We the people of Afghanistan are today watchful of the moral calculation of the world and our neighbours, to see who stands in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan against the groups who serve foreign interests. History and the people of Afghanistan will judge their acts – those who come to our aid and those who don’t. We will see the true friends of Afghanistan in this critical moment. “
In another message to those who joined the Taliban in the belief that they are waging a jihad against foreigners, he said; “I am hopeful that after seeing the cruelty and criminal acts of the Taliban in clear contravention of Sharia law, contrary to the resolution of the Ulema and the spirit of our motherland and Islam they will wake up from their mistaken delusion and learn not to ruin the future of themselves, their families and their afterlife before God’s judgement.”