Afghan Independence Day

Afghan Independence Day is celebrated as a national holiday in Afghanistan on 19 August to commemorate the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919^[1] and relinquishment from British Protected state status.^[2] The treaty granted a complete neutral relation between Afghanistan and Britain. Afghanistan had become a British protectorate after the Treaty of Gandamak was signed (1879) in the Second Anglo-Afghan War.

Afghanistan Independence Day د افغانستان د خپلواکۍ ورځ Da Afġānistān da Khpalwakey wraz  (Pashto) روز استقلال افغانستان Roz-e Isteqlal-e Afġānestān  (Persian)
President Hamid Karzai observing the honor guard of the Afghan Armed Forces during the 2011 Afghan Independence Day in Kabul
Observed by	Afghanistan
Significance	Marks Afghanistan's regaining of full independence from British influence in 1919
Date	19 August
Next time	19 August 2025 (2025-08-19)
Frequency	annual

Amanullah Khan, then Afghan emir who proclaimed independence

Background

The First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–42) led to the British force taking and occupying Kabul. After this, due to strategic errors by Elphinstone, the British force was annihilated by Afghan forces under the command of Akbar Khan somewhere at the Kabul–Jalalabad Road, near the city of Jalalabad.^[3] After this defeat, the British-Indian forces returned to Afghanistan on a special mission to rescue their prisoners of war (POWs) and then withdrew. The British returned later in the Second Anglo-Afghan War.

The Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80) first led to a British defeat at Maiwand followed by their victory at the Battle of Kandahar, which led to Abdur Rahman Khan becoming the new emir and the start of friendly British-Afghan relations. The British were given control of Afghanistan's foreign affairs in exchange for protection against the Russians and Persians. The Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919 led the British to give up control of Afghanistan's foreign affairs finally in 1921.^[4]

Observances

The Paghman victory arch, which commemorates the war against the United Kingdom

• The Taq-e Zafar was built in Paghman to commemorate independence in 1928.
• At the centenary anniversary in 2019, some international landmarks hoisted the Afghan flag tricolor, including the world's tallest building Burj Khalifa in Dubai.^[5] The day also coincidenced with the completion of the renovation of the Darul Aman Palace in Kabul, where official celebrations took place.
• On 15 August 2021, the Taliban captured Kabul and reinstated the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.^[6] During the Afghan Independence Day rallies in Jalalabad and other cities on 18 and 19 August, the Taliban killed three people and injured over a dozen others for removing Taliban flags and displaying the tricolor Afghan flags.^[7][8]

Gallery

• 
  2011
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  2011
• 
  2011

See also

• Culture of Afghanistan
• Hotak dynasty
• Durrani Empire

References

1. "The World Factbook: Afghanistan". Central Intelligence Agency. 7 September 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
2. Onley, James (March 2009), "The Raj Reconsidered: British India's Informal Empire and Spheres of Influence in Asia and Africa" (PDF), Asian Affairs, 11 (1): 50
3. "War-battered Afghanistan celebrates independence day". Associated Press. 18 September 2000. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
4. Watkins, Thomas (17 August 2019). "Afghan palace emerges from ruins in Kabul". Asia Times. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
5. "Dubai's Burj Khalifa to showcase Afghanistan flag today".
6. "Taliban Reassert 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan'". The New York Times. 19 August 2021. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021.
7. Latifi, Ali M. "Shots fired at Afghan protest against Taliban, 2 reported dead". Al Jazeera.
8. "Several reported killed as Taliban shoot at crowds waving Afghan flag". The Guardian. 19 August 2021.