“What Else Does Colonel Dost Mohammad’s Son Want?”
Author: General Babajan Zahid, a career officer of the communist government and later the Islamic State of Afghanistan
Twenty-five years have passed since the martyrdom of the great Amir Sahib Ahmad Shah Massoud, the National Hero of the country.
The years of the Resistance, as well as the period preceding it, rank among the proudest chapters of my life. I retain many memories of those years, each of them a part of the bitter yet glorious history of our people’s resistance. Today, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you one of those memories and recount one of my conversations with Amir Sahib.
I remember it well. It was Jawza 1376 [May–June 1997]. The northern regions suffered a defeat following a series of disagreements within the leadership of the National Movement. The city of Mazar-i-Sharif and vast areas of the north fell.
At the time, I was stationed around the Salang Tunnel, Garri-ye Awal and Ulang with approximately one hundred servicemen, most of them from Bagram.
We were informed by radio that an emergency meeting was to be held at the Salang headquarters and that I, too, was required to attend.
When I arrived at the meeting place with a bodyguard and a driver, more than fifty commanders and group leaders from Parwan were already present, including officials responsible for the front.
I will refrain from mentioning the names of all those who played a role in the developments in the north of the country and in Salang, out of consideration for our comradeship and personal acquaintance. I hope no one will take offense at this.
In any case, I attended the meeting without having precise information about what was happening at the front.
Suddenly, Abdullah from Panjshir, who was responsible for radio communications, entered the meeting and said:
“Jamshid, Amir Sahib’s radio operator, says that Amir Sahib wants to speak with the members of this gathering about the latest developments and changes.”
However, no one was willing to speak with Amir Sahib.
One of them said:
“What else does Colonel Dost Mohammad’s son want?”
Another commander from Jamiat said:
“I am no longer a Jamiati.”
Another took off his pakol and said:
“This ‘piece of leather’ is no good anymore; we no longer recognize anyone as our commander.”
The atmosphere at the meeting became extremely tense.
Finally, Abdullah, who was responsible for radio communications, said:
“General Sahib Babajan is also here.”
At that very moment, the radio was handed to me. Everyone present gestured to me:
“You do something yourself.”
Amir Sahib’s call sign on the radio network was “Khalid,” while mine at the time was “Markaz” (“Center”), of course, within our own unit. Amir Sahib did not know my call sign.
When contact was established, he asked:
“General, do you hear me?”
I replied:
“Khalid, I hear you.”
Amir Sahib said:
“The situation in Salang is bad. Some have made a deal. Go immediately and block the Salang Tunnel.”
I replied:
“Amir Sahib, I understand. All the brothers, commanders, and mujahideen are here. Everyone has heard your words; we will definitely carry it out.”
Amir Sahib repeated this twice, stressing his order each time, while I repeated my previous answer both times.
Amir Sahib became angry. His voice grew louder, and he said:
“Deaf General! The deal has already been made. Immediately do what I told you to do.”
At that moment, I had no choice but to cut off the radio communication. It was only through that conversation with Amir Sahib that we learned the bitter truth and realized that the deal had already been made: some commanders had betrayed us and joined the Taliban.
We remained there for a few minutes. Then, under the pretext of performing ablution, I left the meeting.
One of the group leaders in Salang took me aside and helped me move secretly toward the tunnel. For security reasons, I will not mention his name here.
I also took Abdullah, who was responsible for radio communications and whose post at the time was in an area called Qalatak-e Salang, with me toward the tunnel.
We managed to halt the Taliban’s advance for several days and successfully carried out the operation to block the Salang Tunnel. In this way, we prevented the Taliban forces from linking up. With the tunnel blocked, the Resistance came back to life, creating a new opportunity to regroup, organize our forces, and continue the resistance.
I have many more stories and memories of what happened after the Salang Tunnel was blocked, but I will leave them for another time.
P.S. After the events in Salang, Amir Sahib gave my radio network the name “Farhad,” because he used to say:
“Like Farhad, who cut through the mountain.”
