The 25th anniversary of Soviet forces exit from Afghanistan was marked on Saturday 26th DALW [February 15th], which is the date that the last unit of Soviet soldiers withdrew from Afghanistan. The Soviet invasion which began on December 25, 1979 and ended on February 15, 1989, left millions dead, injured or homeless. The defeat of Soviet forces is attributed to the struggle, unity, and selflessness of the Afghan people. The Afghan people demonstrated they were united against the aggressors and refused to accept foreign occupation on their soil; this was an example for the world.

Russia's defense minister has praised veterans of the Soviet war in Afghanistan as "true patriots" as the nation on Saturday marked the 25th anniversary of the Soviet withdrawal. Sergei Shoigu said in a statement marking the anniversary that Soviet soldiers' heroism in the war was part "of the best combat traditions of the Motherland." He added that the experience has proven useful for counter-terrorism and peacekeeping duties however the 9 year war in Afghanistan was a bitter experience.

The Taliban demanded that Afghans raise their voices against American Forces in the same manner as they attacked forces of former Soviets Union. Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, spokesman for the Taliban group, said, “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is calling on its people to deal with today’s invaders the same they did with the yesterday’s invaders.” The statement added, “We want to remind the American that we did not accept invaders with their sweet and nice slogans in the past. We eliminated them from the world map. God willing, your destiny will be the same.”

However, experts say that Soviets Union had violated Afghanistan’s sovereignty. Conversely the United States, coalition forces, and the United Nations have entered Afghanistan based on mutual agreement. They haven’t come to Afghanistan for the purpose of violence.

The withdrawal of Soviet Red forces from Afghanistan in 1989 led to the collapse of the Soviet-backed government of Dr. Najibullah in April 1992 and as a result, a civil war broke out among the Mujahedeen factions till the Taliban regime took control of the country. 

The victory of Mujahedeen and withdrawal of the Soviet forces from Afghanistan was widely celebrated; however, Afghans are more concerned regarding the withdrawal of the US-led coalition forces from the country, fearing that Afghanistan will face the same fate as it faced after the withdrawal of Soviet forces.

Of course, Afghan people conducted Jihad against Soviet invaders bravely and our victory was worthy of praise. This Jihad opened a glorious page in the history of our country. Now, it is our responsibility to keep the sacred blood of martyrs safe. We should never let the insurgents to murder our people under the aegis of Islam. It should not be forgotten that Taliban acted sacrilegiously especially by planting bombs inside our Sacred Book, Holy Qur’an. Hence, it will be naïve of one to fall for their bogus claim.