Chapter 36 Videotape

In the press hall of the Ministry of National Defense of Afghanistan, the reporters who were summoned filled the originally very spacious hall densely. This time it was not a routine press conference, but a temporary request from the Ministry of National Defense, saying that there was important news to be announced.

The appetites of the reporters in the audience were whetted early on, and everyone chatted about what was going on below. If there is no big news, the Ministry of National Defense of Afghanistan will not hold any press conference with great fanfare. The current war is obviously not conducive to the government forces. Holding a press conference at a time like this is simply asking for humiliation.

The clock on the wall reached ten o'clock, and the scheduled press conference time had arrived. The spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense of Afghanistan walked up to the stage with a smile on his face. He was wearing a gorgeous military uniform, and he calmly sorted out the manuscripts in his hands. After everything was ready, the spokesperson finally announced the press release. the beginning of the meeting.

The spokesperson standing on the stage said two small things first, and then got into the main topic. I saw him pick up the drafted manuscript and read word by word, "

"It has been confirmed that during an armed operation by the Soviet army that took place not long ago, the figure of Hafizola Qassem Wardak, the number one illegal armed figure who has been entrenched in the Paghman area, was discovered. In the fierce exchange of fire between the two sides, Hafizollah Qassem Wardak and his cronies were forced to jump off the cliff to their deaths. Afghan government forces and Soviet troops have begun to salvage the bodies from the river near the exchange area... ..."

After the spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense of Afghanistan finished reading his long speech, many reporters from the media raised their hands and prepared to ask him questions. Because the war was unfavorable, the spokesperson rarely had such confidence. He glanced at the reporters below, and he planned to give the opportunity to ask questions to a few unfriendly media.

"That lady over there!"

He pointed at a well-dressed lady, a reporter from an American media at that time, who usually made trouble at press conferences. The microphone was passed to the female reporter. The female reporter stood up with a smile on her face, and said politely to the spokesperson:

"Hi Speaker, I'm a reporter from the Associated Press and my question is, are you sure that Hafizola Qassem Wardak has been killed?"

The spokesperson suddenly felt something was wrong. What's going on? Could it be that the information was wrong. Could it be that Hafizollah Qasim Wardak's double died? No, absolutely impossible! The Russians don't have to do that. Although the spokesperson thought so in his heart, his face remained unchanged. Even if Hafizola Qassem Wardak is really not dead, he must be regarded as dead, otherwise the Afghan government and the Afghan Ministry of Defense will lose face exhausted.

"We're convinced he's dead!" the spokesperson said emphatically.

"Then can you explain what is going on with this photo?" The smiling female reporter suddenly took out a large photo from the folder, held it in her hand and raised it above her head, and showed it to the surrounding reporters.

The photo is very clear, and the spokesperson can see it at a glance. In the photo, Hafizollah Qasim Wardak was sitting on the ground holding a newspaper with the date of the day towards the camera. The position of the date was circled in red and clearly marked. The spokesperson was already a little overwhelmed. The surrounding reporters found that the press conference had turned upside down, and they all raised their cameras to record the unexpected situation at the scene.

"How do you explain this photo?" The female reporter saw that the spokesperson did not respond for a long time, and repeated the question again.

"I don't know the authenticity of the photo in your hand. I can only say that Hafizola Qasim Wardak has many doubles, and the person in the photo may be a double." The spokesperson strongly denied it. He had already scolded the Soviets bloody in his heart.

"If you don't think the photos I have are convincing, I have a video of Hafizola Qasim Wardak,

He has personally proved in it that everything you say is a lie. "The female reporter took out another video tape from her bag and showed it to the reporters present.

For a moment, the reporters sitting below were in an uproar. This was simply a slap in the face. The Afghan government and the Soviet Union had just announced their brilliant victory, and in a blink of an eye they were attacked by Paghman's armed forces on the spot. There is something more dramatic than this ?

Now the spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense of Afghanistan has nothing to say. Evidence has been bursting out in the hands of the other party, and I only know that Hafizola Qasim Wardak was buried on the cliff, but there is no evidence. No, it's just dead on. Looking at the reporters who raised their hands excitedly asking questions, the spokesperson couldn't bear it any longer. Without saying a word, he turned around and strode out of the press hall. Seeing this, the reporters crowded around to prevent the spokesperson from leaving, while the security personnel at the scene were desperately trying to stop these reporters, and the hall was suddenly in chaos.

In less than an hour, the farce of this press conference immediately appeared on the news of the mainstream media all over the world, and the contents of the video tape began to be made public. In the video, Hafizollah confirmed that he was still alive with several newspapers published that day. He admitted in the video tape that he was indeed attacked by the Soviet army, but he did not die, but was slightly injured. He also showed the wound, and it can be seen that the bullet only hit the leg and did not hurt the bone , so it's fine. In the video, he called on the people of all ethnic groups in Afghanistan to unite and fight against the Soviet aggressors together.

This farce made the well-known Hafizola Qassem Wardak an instant celebrity among the warriors, and in the days that followed, more and more small groups of warriors arrived Paghman District asked to join Hafizola's ranks. This was something Hafizollah never thought of at the time.

Now the whole world is watching the jokes of the Soviets. Even in this situation, the Afghan government and the Soviet government are still stubborn, refusing to admit the authenticity of the video tape, and blindly emphasizing that it is only Hafizola-Kah A stand-in for Sim Wardak. But secretly, the President of Afghanistan, Babrak Karmel, has passed the petition to Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

For a while, the 103rd Airborne Division became the target of public criticism in this incident. The Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union and the Ministry of National Defense of Afghanistan vented all their anger on the division commander Semyon. He rushed to Afghanistan on the plane, rushed into his office and took him back to the country for investigation.