Warrior Massoud's image becomes Afghan icon

KABUL - In Kabul, it is hard to miss the late Ahmad Shah Massoud.

His bearded visage is painted onto blast walls across the city, his photo adorns the windscreens of pro-government forces. And a central roundabout bears his name.

More than 17 years since his assassination, the fighter who battled the Soviets and the Taliban has become something of an Afghan icon.

The feats of the "Lion of Panjshir", named for his home valley north of Kabul, has earned him a devoted following in war-weary Afghanistan.

The most famous images of Massoud, with a beige pakol-the traditional Afghan woolen hat-perched on his head, can now be found on T-shirts, key rings and even coffee cups in Kabul's markets.

Massoud gained fame for his military prowess, through which he kept Panjshir free even during the Soviet occupation (1979-89) and during the Taliban regime (1996-2001).

"Every country has a national hero, and Massoud is known worldwide as our national hero. That is why you see his pictures all over the country," said Shamsullah Jawid, a former mujahedeen fighter who now is a Panjshir prosecutor.

Massoud's only son, Ahmad, said his father's vision for Afghanistan was a "peaceful country with good relations between all ethnicities and neighboring countries".

Massoud was the first to approach the Taliban to seek peace, said Ahmad, 29, who now runs a foundation bearing his father's name.

The United States is currently leading a push to find a peace deal with the insurgents.

"Peace has not come and the struggles Afghanistan still face keep piling up," explained Ahmad.

"In this current situation they need a Massoud figure to be again their savior," he said of the nation's love of his father.

Massoud was killed aged 47 on Sept 9, 2001 by a team of al-Qaida suicide bombers posing as journalists.

His death came just two days before the Sept 11, 2001, attacks that would precipitate the US-led invasion to oust the Taliban, who had granted al-Qaida safe haven.

Massoud has subsequentially been elevated to the rank of Afghan "national hero" by presidential decree.

Viewed by the West as someone who represented moderate Islam, Massoud was in April 2001 invited to Paris and then the European Parliament in Strasbourg. But his story is not without controversy.

In his youth, he studied with the Muslim Brotherhood along with other Muslim leaders that fought the Soviets, before cutting ties in 1978.

His troops were accused of massacres and looting during the 1992-1996 civil war following the Soviet withdrawal. That war killed tens of thousands of Afghans and reduced much of Kabul to rubble.

Massoud's legend owes a good amount to a few photographic portraits that capture the aura of the Afghan "lion" and are instantly recognizable, rather like those of Che Guevara.

Yousuf Jannesar, an Afghan photographer, says he has "never met anyone so photogenic".

The most famous images of Massoud were taken by French-Iranian photographer Reza Deghati, known simply as Reza, and by Hiromi Nagakura of Japan.

"He's the man who best embodies the most important word for Afghans: pride. He is the only person in modern history who represents the Afghan soul," said Reza, who like his subject, shares a passion for chess and Persian poetry.

Every Sept 9, the anniversary of his death, crowds of pakol-wearing admirers, as well as politicians and a few diplomats, go to Panjshir to pay homage.

In Kabul, followers shoot weapons in the air to honor his memory, an event that invariably results in locals getting wounded.

Agence France-Presse