Kabul (BNA) President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani in a message congratulated Afghan nation on the occasion of 32nd anniversary of the Soviet withdrawal from the country, saying as a result of the legitimate jihad of the Afghan people, the last soldier of the largest and most powerful army of the time, left the country through Hairatan port, and thus accepted their defeat after nine years of occupation.
According to the President, the presence of Soviet troops in Afghanistan at that time was called an occupation by the international community, the United Nations, the Conference of Islamic Countries and the whole world, and they condemned their presence and declared their support for the freedom-loving people of Afghanistan.
“The purpose of the jihad of our people was that after the withdrawal of the Soviet forces, a system would be established in Afghanistan which would be according the will of the people to strengthen and protect national and military institutions.
However, because the withdrawal of Soviet troops was irresponsible and no measures were taken for the future of the country, Afghanistan was plunged into a multidimensional civil war, in which the security forces, national institutions and infrastructure of Afghanistan were destroyed,” the President added, according to the statement.
The President, as quoted in the statement, said that the main reason for the defeat of the then Red Army was national unity, adding that Afghanistan now has the opportunity to end the war and achieve peace. “A peace in which our military and civilian institutions are maintained and further strengthened, a peace that benefits children, women, youth and all disadvantaged sections of Afghanistan.”
The President said: “We remember that all Eastern and Western observers believed that the Soviet Union would not end the occupation of Afghanistan and that the national struggle of the Afghan people would not succeed. We proved this to be wrong by defeating the Red Army.
Even now, our unity and integrity will prove wrong the view that Afghanistan will not be at peace,” the President added. “We will achieve lasting peace, a peace in which the dignity of every Afghan lies,” the President concluded.
