Writer: Hamdullah Samoon
24th of Asad was the day the twenty-year republican system in Afghanistan collapsed, but the 9th of Sunbula is the day when the foreign occupying forces, along with their hired officials, fled. On this day, the open process of the former officials’ escape from Afghanistan came to an end. 9th of Sunbula left behind a historic lesson: no matter how much power occupiers may possess, because they lack genuine and rooted foundations, they cannot remain permanently. Whatever wealth and power they may have, their end is nothing but defeat and escape. 9th of Sunbula was not merely the end of a chapter in Afghanistan, it was a lesson for both the Afghan nation and foreigners, opening the path for defining the future.
Those who had introduced themselves as officials of the republic, as servants of the people, and as leaders of the nation, made it clear on the 9th of Sunbula that their connection to the homeland was limited only to temporary seats and positions, personal gains, and the inflow of foreign dollars. The nation remained behind, but these so-called servants (!) and leaders (!) attempted to escape Afghanistan even before the occupying forces. On the 9th of Sunbula, all those individuals who claimed to be guardians of the people rushed toward the airport, desperately seeking a way out.
Systems built on foreign backing and support, no matter how attractive their names, slogans, and structures may seem, can never exercise true authority over the Afghan nation. 9th of Sunbula marked the continued disgrace of those warlords, opportunists, and deniers of Afghan identity, who for years promoted propaganda against Islamic and national values, only to finally flee on the same foreign planes in which they had once entered alongside the occupiers two decades earlier.
Between 24th if Asad and 9th of Sunbula, the treacherous Afghan officials of the fallen republic committed such acts of betrayal that neither history nor the Afghan nation will ever erase from memory. In a cowardly manner, they betrayed the country’s national assets and, shoulder to shoulder with foreigners, sabotaged the country’s planes, vehicles, and equipment, rendering them useless. Their claims of patriotism proved false, and they themselves revealed their true faces to the Afghan nation.
9th of Sunbula also conveys the message that no nation can ever attain dignity without holding firmly to its true values and freedom. Whoever rules by foreign power has fragile foundations, and in moments of crisis, such rulers will prioritize escape over accountability and solidarity with the people.
Another important lesson of the 9th of Sunbula is that future generations must prevent the repetition of such mistakes. No people will tolerate leaders who flee in times of danger and gamble with the destiny of the nation. On that day, the officials fled, but the people remained, the homeland remained, and love for the soil remained. Their escape was, in reality, a rejection of their identity and Afghanhood, as they abandoned all values to seek refuge in the arms of foreigners.
Beyond all these discussions, the 9th of Sunbula is also regarded as a proud day in Afghanistan’s history because it marked the departure of the last American soldier from the country. The foreign invaders, who had entered Afghanistan with grand ambitions and hopes and had sought to establish a permanent government under the name of the republic, were reduced to dust before their complete withdrawal.
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