Taliban: Nowruz is not an official holiday in Afghanistan
Taliban officials have stated that Nowruz is not an official holiday in Afghanistan. Previously, the deputy minister of information and culture and Taliban spokesman had announced that Afghanistan will not officially celebrate Nowruz, but will not prevent the holding of Nowruz ceremonies.
Abdul Ahad Emad, an official at the Taliban’s ministry of information and culture, told Reuters: “We do not officially celebrate Nowruz, but we will not prevent people who celebrate this day.”
The same news agency reported, citing Mohammad Younus Siddiqui, spokesman for the Taliban government’s ministry of labor and social affairs, that “Monday, the first day of the year, is not a public holiday in Afghanistan”.
Earlier, Zabihullah Mujahid, deputy minister of information and culture and Taliban spokesman, announced the official position of the ruling authority in Afghanistan regarding Nowruz. Mujahid emphasized in his remarks: “Any ceremony that is not in Islam, we as Taliban do not celebrate.” However, he also added that Taliban will not prevent the holding of Nowruz ceremonies by the people.
This was while Qudratullah Tariq, the Taliban mayor of Mazar-i-Sharif, had said about preparations for holding Nowruz ceremonies: “Like previous years, this year preparations have been made and we have made efforts in verdancy, illumination of the city and city cleaning.”
The largest Nowruz ceremony in Afghanistan is held every year at the Blue Mosque, a shrine attributed to Imam Ali, the first Imam of Shiites in Mazar-i-Sharif, the center of Balkh province, which in some accounts is called “the birthplace of the ancient Nowruz celebration.” Thousands of people from different parts of Afghanistan travel to this city to participate in Nowruz celebrations at the beginning of spring.
Until now, on the first day of spring in Afghanistan, a flag called “Janda Bala” was raised in the courtyard of the Blue Mosque, including with the presence of government leaders, which is in fact a symbolic gesture to mark the beginning of Nowruz celebrations in this country. Over the past two decades, Nowruz has been an official holiday in Afghanistan.
Source: DW
