Düsseldorf Ahmed Masood approaches the camera in the dusty environment and at night. Around ten Mujahideen fighters are stationed behind him. All men wear round woolen hats on their heads, the so-called pakodas, which are characteristic of the province of Panjir. Turning to the camera, Masood says, “You see for yourself that I am in Panjir.” He declares that he will “be with his people” till the end. The video message published by Ahmed Masood was viewed and shared hundreds of thousands of times on his social media channels.

While all eyes are on what is happening in Kabul and the country’s major cities, an armed protest is building up in the province in northern Afghanistan. At the head of the resistance is Ahmed Masood, the son of slain former freedom fighter and Sardar Ahmed Shah Masood, who led the resistance against the Taliban in the 1990s.