Panjshir valley, 1983: Afghan mujahideen commander and freedom fighter Ahmad shah Massoud and his soldiers preparing for battle against the invading Soviet Army. (1200×810)
Panjshir valley, 1983: Afghan mujahideen commander and freedom fighter Ahmad shah Massoud and his soldiers preparing for battle against the invading Soviet Army. (1200×810)
People on Reddit like to lump all the mujahideen together as extremists forefathers of the Taliban but that was not the case at all.
Ahmed Shah Massoud and his men pictured here actually fought the Taliban and their allies after the fall of the communist government. Unfortunately It is widely considered accurate by historians and political analysts that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) played a decisive role in empowering the most radical, Islamist factions of the Mujahideen during and after the Soviet-Afghan War (1979–1989).
While the Mujahideen as a whole were backed by a coalition (including the US, UK, Saudi Arabia, and China), Pakistan acted as the primary conduit for funds and weapons. Pakistan systematically manipulated this aid to favor extreme, ideological groups, most notably Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hezb-i-Islami, over more moderate or nationalist Afghan factions.
The blame falls squarely on General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq who really turned Pakistan into an ultra-conservative mess. Zia instituted a strict policy of “Islamization” in Pakistan, transforming the country’s legal, educational, and bureaucratic systems to align with a conservative, religious agenda. (Just like to add it’s not that people or government were any less Muslim before just that he promoted a very strict brand of it).
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People on Reddit like to lump all the mujahideen together as extremists forefathers of the Taliban but that was not the case at all.
Ahmed Shah Massoud and his men pictured here actually fought the Taliban and their allies after the fall of the communist government. Unfortunately It is widely considered accurate by historians and political analysts that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) played a decisive role in empowering the most radical, Islamist factions of the Mujahideen during and after the Soviet-Afghan War (1979–1989).
While the Mujahideen as a whole were backed by a coalition (including the US, UK, Saudi Arabia, and China), Pakistan acted as the primary conduit for funds and weapons. Pakistan systematically manipulated this aid to favor extreme, ideological groups, most notably Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hezb-i-Islami, over more moderate or nationalist Afghan factions.
The blame falls squarely on General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq who really turned Pakistan into an ultra-conservative mess. Zia instituted a strict policy of “Islamization” in Pakistan, transforming the country’s legal, educational, and bureaucratic systems to align with a conservative, religious agenda. (Just like to add it’s not that people or government were any less Muslim before just that he promoted a very strict brand of it).