As observed by the American journalist Steve Coll, in his work, Ghost Wars , “Afghanistan after 1979 was a laboratory for geopolitical and military visions’ that were conceived abroad and imposed by force”. Amidst this, Ahmad Shah Massoud, the ‘Lion of Panjshir’, emerged as the country’s own nationalist visionary. Even though his Northern Alliance (NA) was no match for the ISI-backed Taliban in terms of resources and finances, his military genius helped NA present a formidable challenge to the ISI-Taliban duo in those turbulent years (Front page, “How India secretly armed Afghanistan’s Northern Alliance,” Sept. 1).
Assisting Afghanistan to secure the elusive peace without placing troops on the ground would be the greatest tribute that India can pay to Massoud.
Abhilash Thimmaiah,
Bengaluru