Saturday, August 20, 2016
Kabul (BNA) The 97th Independence Day celebrations kicked off in the capital Kabul on Thursday, with President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani putting a floral wreath at the Minar-e-Istiqlal (Independence Minaret).
The president whom was accompanied by the Minister of National Defense, Gen. Abdullah Habibi, also paid tribute to the martyrs and heroes of the independence.
High-ranking government officials, including Chief Executive Officer (CE) Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, National Security Advisor Mohammad Hanif Atmar, Cabinet members, parliamentarians, military officers and foreign diplomats were present on the occasion. The walls surrounding the Minar-i-Isteqlal were covered with pictures of Ghazi Amanullah Khan, King Zahir Shah, Ahmad Shah Abdali, Mirwais Nekah and other heroes who brought independence to Afghanistan.
Afghanistan, which has never been part of the British Empire, celebrates the day to commemorate the 1919 Treaty of Rawalpindi, which granted it independence. The Britons fought three wars in Afghanistan. The First Anglo-Afghan War, 1839-1839, led to the massacre of the entire British invading force in Jalalabad.
