Afghan Taliban Celebrate First Anniversary Of American Troop Withdrawal From Afghanistan, Showcase Helicopters, Military Vehicles, Weapons Systems In Parades

On August 31, 2022, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, i.e., the Afghan Taliban, celebrated the first anniversary of the withdrawal of American and NATO forces from Afghanistan with the main ceremony being held at Bagram Airbase. Some of the messages issued at the ceremonies reiterated the message of jihad and success against “American aggression” against Afghanistan.

A military parade showcasing helicopters, vehicles, rocket launchers, Luna and Scud missiles, tanks, U.S. Humvees, and other military equipment was the major event of the day to commemorate the first anniversary of the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan. While the last American soldier left Afghanistan on August 31, 2021, the Taliban had informally taken control of the country on August 15 after President Ashraf Ghani left Kabul for self-exile.

Photos released by the Afghan state-run Radio-Television Afghanistan (RTA) showed the Taliban military forces marching passed the stage with helicopters flying over

Contingents of the IEA armed forces and other security forces conducted a march past while helicopters presented a fly-past. The Afghan Taliban’s acting Defense Minister Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid inspected a contingent of Ishtishhadi Operation Battalion and contingents of other forces and military equipment in the parade. “On the first anniversary of the freedom and victory of Afghanistan against the American occupation, we congratulate you,” Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid told the armed forces while inspecting the parade. Mujahid is the son of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the late founder of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

As a contingent wearing traditional Afghan dress and carrying shoulder-fired rocket launchers and light arms passed in front of the rostrum, a Pashtu-Dari song was played:

“The hero of this era, the Islamist mujahid,
“The eliminator of unbelief and pagans;
“A sword of Omar on the neck of oppressors.
“Stands firm in the battle against the corrupt.”

The Taliban’s de facto Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund, addressing the parade ceremony, said: “Those who occupied our country for 20 years and withdrew created problems for this country, imposed sanctions and are conducting propaganda that there is hunger in Afghanistan. It is you who brought the hunger by imposing sanctions.”

He said the U.S. and the world are trying to impose more sanctions on the Taliban officials and have blacklisted them. “Any state that has problem [with the Taliban government] should come and resolve it in an understanding with us. What is the reason that [the U.S.] froze a small asset of the nation of Afghanistan and imposed sanctions on them? [They] do not allow any organization to come here and work in mining, health, agriculture, or any other sector. They threaten them.”

Urging the U.S. and its allies to resolve their problems through talks, the prime minister said: “If you are trying to block all the ways for the Afghan nation, it is you who is trying to turn Afghanistan into an island.” He said if any country has any problems with the Taliban government, then it should resolve it with the Taliban through negotiations. “We want to have an understanding with everyone and resolve problems with them, travel with them, but with the limitation that there is no threat to our Islamic and shari’a principles. We want to have understanding with everyone in an open atmosphere,” he said.

Earlier, on the night of August 30-31, the Taliban government illuminated buildings in Kabul and set off fireworks. Senior Taliban officials, including Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and others, watched the fireworks.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, being the representative of the country’s legitimate system and the brave Afghan nation, again calls on the international community to adopt a reasonable policy toward Afghanistan, respect the will of Afghans and protect Afghanistan’s independence, territorial integrity, and take a serious look at the self-determination of our nation and let the Afghans have an independent Islamic system of their own choice in their country so that they can have normal relations and positive interactions with the world as a stable and competitive nation,” the IEA said in a statement issued on the occasion.

According to the statement, the experience of the past 20 years can be a good guide for the future as the policies of pressure and threats from America and others failed. “We saw over the past 20 years that all kind of pressure and threat policies against the mujahid Afghan nation failed and resulted in aggravating the crisis,” it noted.

The IEA congratulated Afghans: “The 20-year jihad by the Muslim nation of Afghanistan against the American aggressors was unparalleled and a stunning battle in which the followers of faith, piety, and trust emerged victorious, and the followers of materialism failed.”

Sources: Youtube, August 31, 2022; Twitter, August 31, 2022.