The personality of Ahmad Shah Massoud, due to the extensive propaganda of his followers during the twenty years of the Republic, has always been surrounded by one-sided narratives and publicity. However, a review of historical documents and evidence shows that he was not a “national hero” but rather a pawn dependent on foreign intelligence agencies.
This note highlights four key aspects of Ahmad Shah Massoud’s hidden connections with Zionist networks, India’s intelligence agency (RAW), Iran’s intelligence organization (Vevak), and Pakistan’s ISI; foreign agencies whose influence can clearly be traced at every stage of Massoud’s life.
Massoud’s Deep Relations with the Zionist Representative: One of the darkest aspects of Massoud’s political life was his ties with Bernard-Henri Lévy, a well-known French Zionist figure. Lévy is notorious for fueling crises in countries like Bangladesh, Bosnia, Libya, and Ukraine.
Lévy traveled twice to Panjshir, in 1981 and 1998, holding secret meetings with Ahmad Shah Massoud. Western sources and video footage from that time testify that Lévy even addressed Massoud’s fighters, encouraging them to fight against the Taliban. This clearly shows that Massoud was serving Zionist projects aimed at destabilizing the region.
It is worth noting that after Massoud’s death, this strong link between the Zionist representative and the Massoud family did not end. After the fall of the Republic as well, images of Ahmad Massoud—his son—meeting Bernard-Henri Lévy surfaced in the media. These meetings revealed the continuation of the family’s ties with the Zionist regime.
Ahmad Shah Massoud in Service of India’s Intelligence Agency (RAW): Credible documents indicate that Ahmad Shah Massoud was one of the most important assets of India’s external intelligence agency, RAW. Yatish Yadav, an Indian journalist, in his book Research and Analysis Wing, explicitly states that during the Soviet occupation RAW recruited three Afghan commanders, including Ahmad Shah Massoud.
This cooperation included financial support, military aid, and the provision of weapons. India’s main objective in recruiting Massoud was to curb Pakistan’s influence in Afghanistan and to use him as a tool for this policy. (Source: Madanyat website, 2023)
In return for this support, Ahmad Shah Massoud sacrificed his political independence and became a pawn serving New Delhi’s objectives; an obvious dependency that exemplified his betrayal of Afghanistan’s national dignity and territorial integrity.
Ahmad Shah Massoud and Cooperation with Iran’s Intelligence Organization (Vevak): Another less-discussed dimension of Massoud’s ties was his close relations with Iran’s intelligence agency, Vevak. A report in the Far Eastern Economic Review (February 1996) reveals that Iran had established an air bridge from Mashhad to Bagram, sending daily shipments of weapons and equipment to Massoud’s forces.
On a single day—22 November 1995—thirteen Iranian flights landed in Bagram, delivering equipment directly to Massoud’s followers and people. These supplies were used at the time to fuel civil wars and fratricide among Afghans at the hands of these warlords.
This extensive cooperation was not limited to media reports. Bob Woodward in Bush at War (p. 225) and Steve Coll in Ghost Wars (p. 539) also confirm that Iran provided Massoud with millions of dollars in cash and thousands of weapons. Thus, Ahmad Shah Massoud was willing to sacrifice Afghanistan’s independence in service of Iran’s regional ambitions.
Ahmad Shah Massoud; A Commander on Pakistan’s ISI Payroll: While Massoud’s supporters have always accused his opponents—especially the Taliban—of dependence on Pakistan, historical evidence shows that Massoud himself was for years in the service of the ISI.
Peter Tomsen, the U.S. envoy to the Mujahideen, in his book The Wars of Afghanistan (p. 108), writes that in 1975 the ISI trained a group of Afghan Mujahideen, including Ahmad Shah Massoud, and sent them into Afghanistan.
On page 415 of the same book, Tomsen adds that Massoud, in a meeting with General Mirza Aslam Beg, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, received truckloads of weapons and 70 million Pakistani rupees. In a nutshell, despite what Massoud’s discredited followers claim, the examination of historical documents and reliable sources reveals that Ahmad Shah Massoud was far from being a “national hero.” Instead, he simultaneously served four foreign powers: cooperating with Zionists, depending on India, receiving aid from Iran, and working for Pakistan.
Such a record proves that he repeatedly sacrificed Afghanistan’s independence and the dignity of its suffering people for foreign interests; paving the way for the weakening of the country’s sovereignty and the continuation of war and crisis.
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