Large gathering of scholars, elders held

KABUL (Agencies): A large gathering of religious scholars and influential people from Kabul province was held in the Loya Jirga tent, with senior officials of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) also attending. Addressing the gathering, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi said that the opponents of the Islamic Emirate should take lessons from the past because uniting with the enemies of the country and asking them for help is not in anyone’s interest. “We should learn from the past that foreigners do not build our homeland, invaders do not build our homeland,” Amir Khan Muttaqi said. Abdul Salam Hanafi, the administrative deputy of the prime minister, said: “More than 70 percent of the government’s budget and expenses used to be provided by foreigners. Alhamdulillah, after the end of the occupation in the hands of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, all government institutions were reorganized.” The Acting Minister of Interior said that after the establishment of the Islamic Emirate, violence in the country has disappeared and there is one leadership in all of Afghanistan. Sirajuddin Haqqani considered maintaining unity important for the survival of the existing system. “If we think the truth, Afghanistan spent 43 years or half a century in crisis and jihad. We are now thinking about celebrating Eid right away. Eid cannot be celebrated right away… The work of war and jihad was easy, it brought sorrows, but rebuilding requires a lot of patience and great interaction,” Haqqani said. Din Mohammad, the head of the Ulema Council of Kabul province, said: “I ask you to make a pledge that we will be sincere with our leaders and if someone rebels against them, are we all ready to confront him or not?… We will defend this system with our lives and property.” In conclusion, the Ulema Council of Kabul Province issued a 12-point declaration and called for people’s support for the Islamic system and asked the Islamic Emirate to engage with the international community within the framework of national and Islamic interests. The declaration also called on the international community to recognize the ground realities and engage responsibility with the IEA.