Ghani pays tribute to sacrifices during Soviet occupation

Monitoring Desk

KABUL : President Ashraf Ghani has asked the nation to show determination and preserve unity in order to develop a safe and modern nation based on a strong respect to the rule of law and internal diversity.

The president expressed the view on his social media account on Thursday, February 15 that marked the end of soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

Thirty-nine years back former Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and suffered defeat at the hands of Afghan people after 10 years of bloody war and the Soviet finally withdraw its forces from Afghanistan.

In his message the president said that Afghans paid a heavy price in life and treasure during the occupation of Afghanistan by Soviet Union. “Most importantly, on this day, I pay special tributes to the Afghan national defense and security forces who pay the maximum price on front-lines to defend our motherland against our enemies and foreign backed terrorists,” the president said.

“As president of this proud nation I urge all Afghans to share with me during this week a deep pride in the many accomplishments since the dark days of the civil war and the Taliban. As a nation we must stand united to overcome the many challenges that lie ahead,” he noted.

The president recalled that it was as a result of unity, resilience and perseverance of Afghan nation that steered the people of Afghanistan to victory against the red army and what followed after.

He added: “It would unity and determination of Afghan nation that drive us toward creating a safe and modern nation based on a strong respect for our diversity and for the rule of law.”

“I’m proud to say that our nation has come a long way since the withdrawal of the Soviet, but I must also admit that we are not where we want to be yet. We went through a turbulent history of civil war, rebellion, crackdown and massacre since the last Soviet soldier departed Afghanistan.” “But none of that has broken our resolve as a nation to invest in and to rebuild our country together. In the same spirit, we must be self-reliant economically to achieve full independence.”

“I, therefore, encourage all Afghans to stand behind government’s reforms agenda to increase our productivity and economic growth in order to restore a nation free of war and instability for our future generations.”