Ahmad Wali Massoud (

Dari Persian Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī ...

: ; born 1 November 1964) is an Afghan politician and diplomat who is the founder and chairman of the Massoud Foundation in Afghanistan and is the younger brother of the late

Ahmad Shah Massoud ) , branch = Jamiat-e Islami / Shura-e Nazar Afghan Armed Forces United Islamic Front , serviceyears = 1975–2001 , rank = General , unit = , commands = Mujahideen commander during the Soviet–Afghan War ...

. Massoud obtained a degree in diplomatic studies from

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first polytechnic to open in London. The Polytechnic formally received a Royal charter in Aug ...

, London in 1989. He has served as Afghan ambassador to the UK, special representative of Ahmad Shah Massoud in Europe, and the representative of the

Jamiat-e Islami Jamayat-E-Islami (also rendered as Jamiat-e-Islami and Jamiati Islami; fa, جمعیت اسلامی افغانستان, lit=Islamic Society), sometimes shortened to Jamiat, is a predominantly Tajik political party in Afghanistan. It was origin ...

Party in London. He is the founder of a political party called Nahzat-e-Melli-ye Afghanistan (National Movement Party of Afghanistan). He is the founder of the ''Mandegar Daily'' newspaper and the history magazine ''Yad–e-Yar'' (The Memory of Friends). Massoud published the ''National Agenda'', his first book, in 2012. In September 2021, TRT World journalist Samuel Ramani was able to speak with Massoud. During the interview, which was published in the 21 September edition of

TRT World TRT World is a Turkish public broadcaster international news channel which broadcasts in English 24 hours a day, operated by the TRT and based in Taksim Square, Istıklal Avenue, Beyoğlu, Istanbul. It provides worldwide news and current affairs ...

, Massoud stated that the Resistance still controls much of the Valley and downplayed the reported strength of the Taliban, which he described as "leaderless." Ramani stated that his interview with Massoud was conducted the week before it was published. During the interview, Massoud also described former Afghanistan President

Ashraf Ghani Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan politician, academic, and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was overthrown by the Taliban. Born in ...

's government as too corrupt to survive and also cast doubt on the notion that the Taliban had the military capacity to successfully take power without outside assistance, accusing US Special Envoy to Afghanistan

Zalmay Khalilzad Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad ( ps, ځلمی خلیل زاد, prs, زلمی خلیل‌زاد; born March 22, 1951) is an Afghan-American diplomat and foreign policy expert. Khalilzad was appointed by President Donald J. Trump to serve as U.S. Speci ...

of having a role in orchestrating their return to power. Massoud also described Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley’s September 1, 2021 assertion that the Taliban could fight ISIS-K as "very naive."

References

Afghan politicians Afghan Tajik people Living people Ambassadors of Afghanistan to the United Kingdom 1964 births {{Afghanistan-politician-stub

See also

References