February 27: Afghan Soldiers’ Day
Kabul – During Afghanistan’s last republican government, 27 February was officially observed as Afghan National Soldiers’ Day to honor the country’s security and defense forces. On this day, government officials and citizens across the country paid tribute to the sacrifices of Afghan soldiers, welcoming them with bouquets of flowers and expressions of gratitude.
However, after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the republican army was dismantled, and numerous reports emerged of former soldiers being arrested, tortured, and executed.
Recently, former Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh claimed in a post on X that between 2021 and 2022, the Taliban’s intelligence chief for Nangarhar, Dr. Bashir, was responsible for the extrajudicial killing of over 1,200 former Afghan soldiers in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces.
Fearing reprisals, thousands of former security personnel have fled Afghanistan, with many now facing dire conditions in Iran and Pakistan.
Afghan National Soldiers’ Day was officially designated in 2016 by the Afghan cabinet under President Ashraf Ghani’s administration. Until the fall of the republic, the day was observed annually in Kabul and other provinces as a tribute to Afghan security and defense forces.
