- Sputnik International, 1920
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Panjshir Resistance Leader Ready to Step Down If Taliban Guarantees Freedom in Afghanistan

© REUTERS / MOHAMMAD ISMAILFILE PHOTO: Ahmad Massoud, son of Afghanistan's slain anti-Soviet resistance hero Ahmad Shah Massoud, waves as he arrives to attend a gathering in Bazarak, Panjshir Province, Afghanistan, September 5, 2019.
FILE PHOTO: Ahmad Massoud, son of Afghanistan's slain anti-Soviet resistance hero Ahmad Shah Massoud, waves as he arrives to attend a gathering in Bazarak, Panjshir Province, Afghanistan, September 5, 2019.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 31.08.2021
Subscribe
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The leader of the resistance in the Afghan province of Panjshir, Ahmad Massoud has told Foreign Policy magazine he would give up his struggle if the Taliban* forms an inclusive government and guarantees equal rights for all Afghans.
"If the Taliban are willing to share power with everyone and are willing to establish justice and to give equal rights and freedom to all of Afghanistan, then I will step down and quit politics", Massoud said in an interview, published on 30 August.
The National Resistance Front does not receive any foreign financial support, the leader added, noting that many countries in the region took the Taliban's side.
"The government [of ex-President Ashraf Ghani] drove many regional countries to the side of the Taliban. From its ethnic-nationalist rhetoric to its water policies, it provoked and antagonised our neighbours, and they grew closer to the Taliban", he stated.
On 15 August, the Taliban took over Kabul, gaining control of almost all of Afghanistan and causing the civilian government to collapse. Panjshir, located northeast of Kabul, remains the only province that has not fallen to the Taliban.
*The Taliban is a terrorist organisation outlawed in Russia and many other states.
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала