KABUL: (Middle East Press) 15 February 1989 marks the day of departure of Soviet forces from Afghanistan, the Soviet troops after ten years of war have withdrawn from Afghanistan leaving millions of people dead and injured.
Some of the former leaders have held talks in this regards in Loya Jirga today in Kabul city.
The talks began this morning around 10:30am with hundreds of people, including Professor Sayyaf, Mohammad Ismail Khan, Salahuddin Rabbani, Abdul-Hadi Ar Ghandiwal some other Jihadi leaders and members of Parliament have participated.
“When the Russians withdrew from our country, we Afghans were euphoric. We thought from now on we would celebrate not just two Islamic festivals a year, but three,” recounts 61-year old Ahmad. But the Kabul-based teacher says that his people couldn’t have sensed the disaster which was about to happen. “As Afghans began to kill each other, there was no more talk of celebrations,” Ahmad told DW.
The fact that the Afghans were even willing to celebrate shows how strong their hatred for the Soviet occupiers was. The disastrous Soviet military mission in Afghanistan began during the Christmas of 1979 to support the pro-communist regime at the time in its fight against a growing insurgency. The invasion had left behind a devastated country, with more than one million Afghans being killed and around 5.5 million displaced.
Similar to the situation after the Soviet withdrawal, Afghanistan will once again depend on sustained external support for its survival. It is unclear whether and how long the government in Kabul will be able to stay in power without a massive foreign military presence. Afghanistan experts remain skeptical. “Without ISAF troops on the ground, the progressive forces in the country will be on their own, and I doubt whether they will be in the position to fight back against the extremists and preserve the few gains that have been made so far,” said Afghan expert Knabe.
