Following the collapse of the Kabul government, a fight seemed inevitable, crushing hopes for a peaceful transfer of power to a rebel coalition. Only hours earlier, rival mujahedin groups in Peshawar, Pakistan, agreed to a 50-man transitional council that would guide the country toward elections within two years. In an effort to blunt years of animosity between the two leading commanders, guerrilla leaders named Massoud as defense minister and Hekmatyar as prime minister. But Hekmatyar, who had no intention of sharing power, rejected the accord, setting up a confrontation with Massoud. By Sunday, open fighting between the two groups had broken out at the presidential compound and elsewhere around Kabul.
The accord meant little to Hekmatyar. The interim council’s real power rested with 30 field commanders, who respect Massoud. For a dozen years, the 39-yearold rebel leader epitomized the struggle against the Soviet-backed communist regime. Instead of joining the mujahedin government-in-exile in Peshawar, Massoud remained in the Panjshir Valley, in northeast Afghanistan, organizing rebels into small groups that harassed better-equipped Soviet and government troops. He proved a deft politician, too. When Moscow’s scorched-earth policy destroyed most of the valley’s crops and livestock, Massoud led an effort to rebuild food stocks and the local government. He set up a court system and a method of tax collection from the local trade in lapis lazuli, which supported schools, mosques, hospitals, a fund for widows and a rebel training camp. His skill as a coalition builder helped turn the tide of the Afghan war before the Soviets quit: 10 northern provinces came under his influence, giving him the leverage to cut deals with government commanders-and chase President Najibullah from power in mid-April.
Last week Massoud was acting like a national leader. He contemplated the new government, which will introduce Islamic law but not, he suggests, the radical version of his old nemesis. He sees no place for Hekmatyar: “The leaders would not accept him.” What of his own political ambitions? Massoud demurs. But when a follower asks where he can reach him in the coming weeks, Massoud replies, “Do you know the former telephone number of Najibullah? It will be my number.” To take over as leader, however, he must first survive the showdown with his Islamic firebrand challenger.
