Ahmad Shah Massoud

Amu: Wednesday marks 25 years since the assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud, a prominent commander who fought Soviet forces and later the Taliban and was declared a national hero by the former government. Massoud was assassinated on Sept. 9, 2001, in Khwaja Bahauddin district of Takhar province in northern Afghanistan when two attackers posing as journalists detonated explosives during an interview. His assassination came two days before the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. Massoud publicly advocated elections and broader public participation in determining Afghanistan’s political system. “The only reasonable path for Afghanistan is through democracy and elections, with every person having one vote,” Massoud once said. He also supported education and employment for women. Click here to read more (external link).