Afghan Independence Day

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Afghanistan Independence Day

  • د افغانستان د خپلواکۍ ورځ
    Da Afġānistān da Khpalwakey wraz  (Pashto)

  • روز استقلال افغانستان
    Roz-e Isteqlal-e Afġānestān  (Persian)
2011 Afghan Independence Day-2.jpg
President Hamid Karzai observing the honor guard of the Afghan Armed Forces during the 2011 Afghan Independence Day in Kabul
Observed byFlag of the Taliban.svg  Afghanistan
SignificanceMarks Afghanistan's regaining of full independence from British influence in 1919
Date 19 August
Next time19 August 2024 (2024-08-19)
Frequencyannual
Amanullah Khan, then Afghan emir who proclaimed independence King Amanullah of Afghanistan-cropped.jpg
Amanullah Khan, then Afghan emir who proclaimed independence

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.

Contents

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 Taq-e-Zafar.JPG
The Paghman victory arch, which commemorates the war against the United Kingdom

See also

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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.