Taliban, Masood evenly poised to test their swords
Parchami criminals fight for Massoud
The Frontier Post, Feb.28, 2000
By ABDUR RAHEEM
PESHAWAR - As usual, with the arrival of spring, dark clouds of war loom over Kabul as the forces of both the Taliban and Tajik warlord Ahmad Shah Masood have started brisk preparations for another round of hostilities. The Taliban representatives are touring seminaries in and around Peshawar in order to recruit fresh volunteers. According to a reliable source, on Thursday night, more than hundred vehicles transporting ammunition and fresh cadres for the Taliban left the Jalozai Refugees Camp for Afghanistan. On the other hand, the Tajik warlord, Ahmad Shah Masood, has entrusted the command of the summer offensive to General Assef Dilawar and he is busy in accomplishing the task. An ethnic Tajik, General Assef Dilawar was one of the trusted lieutenants of the former Afghan ruler, Dr Najibullah. He shot into imminence in the famous Samarkhel battle near Jalalabad in 1987, when different mujahideen groups under a joint command fought a pitched battle against the regular army and he successfully defended the eastern city of Jalalabad. General Assef Dilawar also played a vital role in countering the coup d'etate staged by General Shah Nawaz Tanai. It was also General Dilawar who, in the wake of Najeeb's fall, handed the control of the Kabul city over to Ahmad Shah Masood and later on shifted to England. According to reports emanating from Panjsher, the forces of Ahmad Shah Masood under the command of General Assef Dilawar have moved tanks and armoured vehicles to the war front. On the other hand, the Taliban have also moved their war machinery out of Kabul and are moving towards the war front.