Taliban declare August 15 holiday to celebrate one year of rule

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
14 Aug 18:10

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Taliban has declared Monday, August 15, as a public holiday and has marked this day as "the day of victory against the United States and Western."

Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021 (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

The Taliban has declared August 15, the day it conquered Kabul last year, a public holiday to commemorate the first anniversary of its ascension to power in Afghanistan, according to a document obtained by Sputnik.

Simultaneously, movement leaders have promised to eliminate a number of national holidays from the calendar.

In August 2021, the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, culminating in the fall of the US-backed government and huge evacuations.

Since then, the Afghan people have been confronting worsening economic, humanitarian, and security crises.

On another note, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Sunday Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistani President Arif Alvi on the 75th anniversary of Pakistan's independence, noting active cooperation in counter-terrorism, the Kremlin said Sunday.

"Relations between our countries are at a high level. Russia and Pakistan are actively cooperating bilaterally and in various multilateral formats, including in counter-terrorism and the Afghan direction. I am confident that our joint efforts will provide further building of the whole range of constructive Russian-Pakistani ties for the good of our peoples and in interests of strengthening regional security and stability," Putin wrote in his message published by the Kremlin.