TOLOnews 09 September 2013 FARAKHABAR / فراخبر ۰۹ سپتمبر ۲۰۱۳

At a special ceremony held at Minar-e-Muqawomat (Resistance Minaret) in Kabul city on Monday, Marshal Muhammad Qaseem Fahim, the First Vice-President of Afghanistan; Bismillah Muhammadi, the Minister of Defense; and several other high-ranking government officials offered tribute to the "national hero" Ahmad Shah Massoud for his service to Afghanistan before being killed on September 9, 2001.

A number of prominent speakers at the gathering said that recent progress in Afghanistan was only possible because of the vision and efforts of Massoud, who originally emerged as a leader during the mujahidin resistance against the Soviet Union invasion. The speakers emphasized the importance of preserving the progress in honoring the legacy of those like Massoud who fought for it.

Meanwhile, at a ceremony organised in Kabul to commemorate the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud on Monday, Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, a former mujahidin leader, said that Taliban militants are not true Afghans and are working against Islam.

"The Taliban does not have enough dignity to face us and to talk with us," said Mr. Sayyaf. "The reason for not talking with us is not just dignity, but they are not civilized enough to negotiate with us."

The former Jihadi leader, who helped fight against the Soviet Union invasion during the 1980s, claimed the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) were the real heroes of Afghanistan and called the fallen soldiers "true martyrs."

In this episode of Farakhabar, host, Yama Siawash, discusses the topic with the following guests:

• Waqif Hakimi, spokesman of the Jamyat-e-Islami Party
• Abas Noeyan, a member of the Rights and Justice Party

To watch the programme, click here: