From the Epic of Jihad to the Architecture of Statehood: A National Covenant for Peace and Reform

Speech at 26th Anniversary Celebration of the Victory of the Afghan's Jihad

Keypoints: 

• Jihad’s Global Impact: A faith-driven victory that reshaped world history.
• Rules Over Force: From the power of guns to the power of law.
• The National Covenant: The Constitution unites Mosque and Palace.
• Sacred Elections: Voting as accountability, with people as judges.
• Legitimate Defense: Scholars deny Sharia basis for insurgency.
• The 10-Year Fast: Discipline for merit-based 9% growth.
• A Mandate for Peace: Reconciliation as strength for the future.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Excellency Hazrat Sahib, the first President of Afghanistan; Distinguished Professor Danish; Mr. Ibrahimi; Mr. Muslimyar; His Eminence the Chief Justice and honorable members of the Supreme Court; the Attorney General; honorable members of the Cabinet; respected Generals and Jihadi personalities; honorable Ambassadors; Mr. Yamamoto; Jihadi commanders; brothers and sisters!

First and foremost, I congratulate everyone on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the victory of Afghanistan’s Jihad. This was a blessed day, and it is essential that we honor and celebrate it.

I offer my prayers for the souls of the security and defense forces and the martyrs of recent terrorist incidents—especially those martyrs who sought to exercise their fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution and, based on that, enrolled in the ranks of the security and defense forces. Do not forget that ISIS and other terrorists are enemies of democracy and are afraid of the people. If they had roots among the people, they would not be attacking the people.

Today, my remarks are focused on seven sections:

First: Following the remarks of Mr. Ibrahimi and Mr. Muslimyar, the epic of Jihad is the right of our people. Between the 7th of Sawr 1357 [April 1978] and the 8th of Sawr 1371 [April 1992], the heroic nation of Afghanistan created an epic. No impartial person or justice-seeking analyst can deny this epic.

First, look back: was there anyone calculating based on academic logic who would have advised Afghans to raise the flag of Jihad? Did any calculation of the balance of power or the history of the Soviet Union lead anyone to believe that the 8th of Sawr would even be possible? Why did we succeed? Why did this epic happen?

The first reason was the firm and unwavering Islamic faith of our nation—a nation that believed in the will of Allah (SWT), the commands of the luminous religion of Islam, the life of the Prophet (PBUH), and the history of its ancestors. Therefore, let no one think that any political philosophy or any system can be established in this homeland outside of the radiant religion of Islam.

We did not need to "unify" our thoughts; in the discussion of civilizations, we listen with respect, but there is no need to harbor an intellectual complex. A country that has a 5,000-year history and, God willing, will soon reach the 1,500th anniversary of the radiant religion of Islam, has no need for such complexes. Our nation lacked these complexes, and for this reason, it was victorious.

The second reason was our national unity. Was there any point or corner of Afghanistan that did not participate in the Jihad? Was there any sect, class, or ethnicity of Afghanistan that did not partake in this holy Jihad? Had anyone ordered them? Had a decree been issued, or was it a spontaneous national movement?

The Afghan Jihad had deep roots in its national unity, and it was national unity that strengthened and consolidated Afghanistan. If all the inter-Afghan networks had not existed, how would the Jihad have reached the North, the West, and the Center of Afghanistan? Thus, our national unity was a foundation, and this foundation has been laid for centuries.

Those who observed the tranquility of the Afghan people ten years prior to the 7th of Sawr thought our people had become lethargic or preoccupied with worldly matters; they do not understand our 5,000-year history. Ask everyone from Alexander [the Great] to the Soviet Union; the response of the Afghan nation has always been firm. For this reason, it is necessary—regardless of what transpired—to keep this epic history alive for new generations. Because unfortunately, we still have a need for epics; we will need them tomorrow and the day after. If we do not understand our past, we may lose that capability again. So, it is vital that we understand our history, and God willing, we do.

What were the results of our epic? It transformed the world. When the history of the last two or three decades of the 20th century is written, the Afghan Jihad will be one of the most important points of global transformation in that century; it dismantled a bipolar system. Would Poland have become a democratic system if not for the Afghan Jihad? Would the Berlin Wall not still be standing? Would the Soviet Union not still remain? These are questions that the people of the world must fundamentally ask, and our people must ask themselves as well. From this perspective, it is clear that we changed the world. Here, we honor all the Mujahideen, the leaders, the entire nation, and especially the families of the 1.5 million martyrs whose pain remains alive.

Which Afghan family was left without pain between the 7th and 8th of Sawr? I clearly remember the days when my father and family members were in solitary confinement, and from one week to the next, there was no certainty whether we would hear news of their death or their life. The scars were enduring, and there is a need for them to be healed.

Second: [But] the 8th of Sawr coincided with a tragedy. On one hand, it was the tragedy of Afghanistan’s enemies; on the other, an atmosphere of discord and conflict emerged. The clear necessity is that, because the majority of the world was skeptical of Afghanistan’s victory, the necessary international arrangements for the success of the Mujahideen after the fall of the [communist] regime were not made. The proper conditions for governance were not established. Very quickly, an atmosphere of discord prevailed. The core issue was that there was no agreement on the rules and principles of state-building.

Another point is that, unfortunately, the reliance on and resort to force very quickly took the place of prudence, understanding, and discussion. This is the legacy of the 7th of Sawr. If we honored [President] Daoud Khan, it was because the martyrdom began from that very day. Who bombed the Presidential Palace (Arg)? Those pilots who were trained by Daoud Khan himself and appointed by him. Thus, it is necessary to reflect on the fact that not everything is resolved through force.

Relying on and resorting to force without first referring to state-building and the radiant Sharia of Muhammad (PBUH) brings about problems and calamities. The lesson is that we cannot ensure the stability of Afghanistan through war.

And what was the other result? Two major outcomes emerged: One, globally, the world was indebted to us. We proudly told the world that you are in our debt, and still, when a just judgment is made, the world remains indebted to the Afghan Jihad. However, the point became that they blamed us, saying Afghans lack the capacity for governance; they relegated us to isolation, and that isolation also came at a price for the world. But our people paid the highest price. It was we who were displaced; it was our land that was razed to the ground; it was our two generations that remained without education; it was our human capital that was wasted; it was our air force that was torn apart; and it was our system that was brought to the dust.

What was the result? Violence. Instead of building a system, we moved toward violence, and who paid the price for that violence? The Mujahideen! The word "Mujahid" is not a monopoly; the word "Mujahid" belongs to every Afghan who stood up and girded their loins between the 7th and 8th of Sawr. This is a word belonging to the entire nation. If anyone insults the Mujahideen, they are insulting their own mother and father; they are insulting their own brother. Why strike at yourself? Is self-insult part of our great culture? Who was not included under the great umbrella of Jihad? Mr. Muslimyar! It is clear that only a minority holds that [negative] view. But my request to the new generation of Afghanistan is, as I requested yesterday regarding the discussion on Daoud Khan, to hold the scales of justice and discuss the conditions fairly. Because we must take lessons, and based on those lessons, we must move forward.

Topic Three: The Constitution is the manifestation of our national consensus. In the Constitutional Loya Jirga, my humble view is that the nation of Afghanistan represented its best Jihadi aspirations, its Islamic identity, and its national identity in a national consensus under the supervision of Hazrat Sahib, who presided over the Loya Jirga. What did we achieve in the Constitution that we hadn't achieved in 250 years? The rules and principles of the game. After the passing of Ahmad Shah the Great, the discord regarding succession in this country continued until that day. The Constitution fundamentally tied the issue of authority to the free and direct vote of the people of Afghanistan.

If I am here, I am here for a few days, and when you accept this [system], you transform from a ruler into a servant. Mr. Chief Justice! You were the first to give me this title—may God protect you, thank you! Because this is the effect of a democratic system.

Second; ask Professor Danish, the Chief Justice, and other scholars: is there a constitution more Islamic than ours in the entire region or the Islamic world? Our values were clearly reflected; our 20th-century conflict, which had created a gap between the school and the mosque, has been resolved in our Constitution. There is no distance between the Palace (Arg) and the Mosque. My great honor is that I have repeatedly celebrated the birth of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in this Palace, and we will continue to celebrate it. To the respected Guardian [of the shrines] and all other honorable scholars, mystical personalities, and others, it is clear that we are an Islamic state. We are not any other kind of state, because this is the mandate of the Constitution.

The third point is that the balance of the three branches of power is the primary condition for the stability of the system. The political class of Afghanistan, from the era of Timur Shah Durrani to the end of Daoud Khan, had no doubt regarding clear rules and principles of the game. Today, the Parliament of Afghanistan is the manifestation of the nation’s will. Mr. Ibrahimi, you came here based on the people’s votes and you represent them; every time, much like the Presidency, you derive your mandate and instructions from the people's vote. This balance is absolutely fundamental. Specifically, regarding the third branch, our Judiciary—we thank the Chief Justice and his colleagues, as well as the Attorney General and his colleagues. The independence of our justice and judicial system is a condition for stability and the rule of law. Without an independent and committed Judiciary, a political system cannot stand. We could discuss our Constitution for hours, but in short, my point is that all our Islamic, historical, and national values have been adapted in the best possible way to the conditions of the 21st century.

This is why I call it a "National Covenant" (Milli Wathiqa); because without it, we have no other principles to unite around. By gathering around these principles, God willing, all the problems and crises of Afghanistan that have been left to us—whether you say for forty years, a hundred years, or 250 years—will be resolved. May God forgive the late Pir Sahib [Sayyid Ahmed Gailani]; his son, the young Pir Sahib, is present here, and I thank them again for their immense efforts regarding this law.

My great pride, however, is that today the people of Afghanistan possess a very broad political consciousness. The people of Afghanistan hold a "doctorate" in politics. Every time I speak with the people, I truly realize the limits of my own knowledge. Despite what I have learned in books—and as you know, I have read many—the intellect of the people and the collective wisdom is a massive capital. I am proud to be an Afghan and a Muslim. The form of the system has been arranged; the question now is how we build, stabilize, and strengthen the system according to the mandates of the Constitution. Do all of you honorable attendees, who were in the Constitutional Loya Jirga or are present today, see any path other than the great nation of Afghanistan wanting a strong democratic state? Can our crises be solved without strong governance built on the balance of powers and broad participation? If there is no other way, then a clear political consensus must be formed to join hands in unity and fulfill the aspirations of the people—and God willing, this will happen.

The fourth topic is elections. Parliamentary elections, as Mr. Ibrahimi and Mr. Muslimyar mentioned, are mandatory. Elections must be transparent and fair. Mr. Ibrahimi, I pledge to you that the government will not interfere; but my request is that the Parliament also does not interfere. The playing field must be level. Brothers and sisters, let us see the will of the nation and who they vote for. I have not formed a party, nor will I. Building a party from the top down has not yielded results. Honorable political parties are the ones who determine direction; but interference in the appointment of district or provincial police commanders, or governors, is unacceptable—it is unacceptable.

Honorable brothers and sisters! Election day is a Day of Reckoning. Just as—without misinterpretation—when a person dies, they take only their deeds with them, not their wealth or children; election day is a day of accountability. On that day, the nation judges, and the nation must judge freely and without interference. My request to the honorable Jihadi parties, civil society, organizations, and youth is to identify and report the conditions of interference so that we all reach a consensus, ensuring that both the Independent Election Commission, the Complaints Commission, and our judicial apparatus act according to the election law.

The second point is that the presidential election will be held according to the mandate of the Constitution. Mr. Sayyad and his colleagues will announce the date, but this date will be before June 2019 (Jawza 1398). I do not wish for a single day to remain in this position of responsibility without the will of the nation. Five years are not calculated by the day I took the oath; a year is calculated by what is stated in the Constitution of Afghanistan. It is time for all of us to give an account, and the National Unity Government will give its account. The judge is the nation of Afghanistan, and the vote is in their hands. Therefore, I emphasize the points mentioned by Mr. Ibrahimi and Mr. Muslimyar: voter registration and voting is a national obligation and an Islamic duty, for it is the way to reach a solution and distance ourselves from crisis. It is a clear necessity that we provide all conditions for the broad participation of our brothers and sisters. Regarding security, my clear instruction is that despite being under heavy attack, securing election centers and the electoral process is our first-priority duty, and we will spare no effort. Simultaneously, I ask Jihadi personalities, commanders, and the broad class that participated in the Jihad to also take part in this "Greater Jihad" and facilitate the conditions.

My fifth topic is the war. The Taliban have announced a war under the name "Khandaq" [Trench]. It is strange; do they understand the concept of the Battle of the Trench, which was led by the Prophet (PBUH) and against whom? Are they declaring war against Hazrat Sahib? Against our Jihadi leaders, our religious scholars, and our Muslim nation? This war is a war against a Muslim and independent Afghanistan. Before the transition process, when Mr. Karzai was President, they said foreign forces would not leave Afghanistan for a hundred years. I held no government position and received no salary then, but I took the transition process into my hands. Did we not see 120,000 foreign troops leave this place with honor and respect? Was there any doubt left in our intentions? If international forces are here, it is for two reasons: one is [the Taliban's] declaration of war against the Islamic State of Afghanistan, and the other is their relationship with terrorists. We are fighting for our survival. What are we fighting for, and what are they fighting for? But beyond that, our war is a defensive war. I am proud of my security and defense forces—the National Army, National Security, and National Police. I take pride in you!

Honorable brothers and sisters and dear compatriots! Is there a single person in the Afghan security and defense forces who is not a volunteer? Did we bring anyone’s child by force to defend this land? Did we seize them in the middle of the night or from the street to defend it? No, these honorable men have come as volunteers with dignity, respect, and commitment to this land.

At this time, I want to mention one point: the Afghan security and defense forces carry out the legacy of the Afghan Jihad with full courage every day. Three and a half years ago, didn't more than 90% of commentators who called themselves "specialists" say that this army would, God forbid, collapse in two days? Do you see it collapsing? This army is being built, God willing. In three more years, you will see the results. Day by day, by the grace of Allah (SWT), we are moving toward strength. But why and for what do we seek strength? Because our cause is righteous.

The security and defense forces of Afghanistan fight for the "Word of Allah" (Kalimatullah) and the Constitution. Is there any corps, brigade, or battalion of the security forces without a mosque and a religious unit? Do they not perform the five daily prayers in their mosques? Without a doubt, they do. This year, I ordered the construction of 45 new mosques, and I am proud of this work—God willing, we will have built more mosques than others, and this is the command of God. Secondly, we are fighting for future generations; we do it for peace, prosperity, and unity.

Today, who pays the price of war? The poor, the women, the youth, and the elderly of Afghanistan. Which class of Afghanistan is not harmed? In every place where war prevails, have you not been deprived of schools for your children? Have they not been deprived of clinics and vital needs? For what? If you want political negotiations, show me a larger proposal in the history of war in the 20th or 21st century than the one I offered. The entire international community says it was a generous proposal. Thus, we must make a distinction: not every Taliban wants war; war has been imposed on the majority of them by a limited few.

We know; we are aware of what happens inside. We know because you thought about this for months and did not have the courage to come to peace or say why you do not accept it. If you are fighting, others have imposed this war on you. Now is a clear time of choice. If you are Afghan and Muslim, accept peace; listen to the voice of the people—it is the broad voice of this nation. Follow the path of our leaders. But if you want war, then know that this nation will stand against you. Let no one underestimate this nation. Our national will is firm because we are not just fighting for five years; we want to lay a foundation for five hundred years. Our neighboring country will turn one hundred years old in 2047; we will celebrate the 300th anniversary of Ahmad Shah Baba. We have not named our rockets "Ghori" or "Ghaznavi" because Ghori and Ghaznavi are our own, but our soldiers also have a wish. Their wish has two parts. You know I always visit the corps, and my method is to first meet the soldiers, then the non-commissioned officers, then the young officers, and then the senior officials. I meet with all of them. I want to convey their two requests to the people of Afghanistan and to you: One is, why doesn't the Afghan media call our martyrs "Martyrs"? You should all send a message in this regard: [do not just say] "killed." Who provides security for all political and cultural classes of Afghanistan? Who makes the sacrifice? Who stands in the front line? Who defends the trench? Second, I have a request for the Parliament, regarding both interference and lack of support. It is a humble request that the political class trust the Afghan security and defense forces. Isn't that right, honorable Generals? Have confidence, because as Mr. Ibrahimi said, with trust and unity, everything, God willing, can be accomplished.

We must speak of the price. Two days ago, I went to the Emergency Hospital. There was a wounded woman named Mahgul. A week prior, she had come from Iran with her two children and her husband. She believed in the Constitution of Afghanistan—that she should go and register. Her five-year-old daughter was martyred, her other daughter was wounded, and her husband was also wounded. Now think: who is this war imposed upon? A family that has suffered years of migration and returns only with faith in God and the future of this land to a registration center. She told me repeatedly, "Give me back my daughter." What heart would not melt at this request? What stone can remain patient in the face of such a plea? We do not want to go to hospitals daily to see martyrs and the families of the wounded. We want to build hospitals to treat their other ailments. This woman had Hepatitis B and lacked the means for treatment. Of course, help is provided, but there is a clear necessity to understand the price of this. This war and this declaration have no popular basis. Now my request to the entire nation, Jihadi personalities, religious scholars, and tribal elders is this: you clearly know that this has no Sharia justification. The scholars of Pakistan—and one of our leaders sitting here studied with Mufti [Taqi] Usmani, as I did—they declared regarding the Pakistani constitution that it is Islamic, and therefore Jihad against it is not permissible. How can Jihad be permissible against our Constitution? This is not Jihad. If they fight for drugs, that is a different matter. If they fight for international terrorists, that is a different matter. But we must understand that there is no type of Sharia legitimacy [for them]. I call upon all of you—and by the grace of God, fatwas have come from Mecca, Medina, Deoband, Timbuktu, and all other places—a collection of these fatwas will be compiled in Indonesia, including a fatwa from Al-Azhar, and therefore we must follow that path.

I now turn to Peace. Regarding peace, this great nation of Afghanistan has a consensus. I express my gratitude to all political parties, civil society, and Jihadi personalities for their very useful consultations. The proposal I made was not merely my personal proposal; it clearly represented the nation. Dr. [Anwar ul-Haq] Ahady spoke well: while there are criticisms of the government on internal matters, there is absolute internal harmony regarding foreign policy. All our neighbors must understand that we cannot be divided, and we have a national consensus on peace. The framework of this national consensus was proposed by the National Unity Government—Dr. Abdullah, Professor Danish, and myself—and it is the proposal of all of Afghanistan.

I ask: does the Afghan government have the will and the authority for peace? If we lacked the will, would Mr. Hekmatyar be sitting in Kabul today? I would not have been able to say these things then. There was an atmosphere of distrust among everyone. Today, Mr. Hekmatyar is in Afghanistan. He has addressed this very hall several times. He had the courage to come. It was said the world would not allow us [to make peace], yet we heard from the whole world in the conference that they agree with our policy. It was said the region would not allow us, yet in Tashkent, we heard what the entire region had to say.

What is my point? We have the intent, the will, the determination, and the authority. Economically, we are still dependent; we have not yet stood on our own feet. But do not doubt the political will of the Afghan. We want peace and we have the authority for it—and if my life is the price for peace, let it be sacrificed! We know what we are doing.

The second point is that the great people of Afghanistan have made sacrifices, especially in these past three days. We must not lose our will for peace. The enemies of Afghanistan want exactly that; they wanted me to come to this grand gathering today and speak of war and declare that peace is over. Peace never ends until we achieve it. Mr. Mutawali! Haven’t 117 people been assassinated in Kandahar alone this year? Does the nation want this? When has it ever been acceptable for a girl to leave her home to learn the Holy Quran, only for half of her body to return home, while the other half remains in one hospital and the rest in another? We must clearly understand that we have the will for peace and we will bring it to fruition.

However, the path to peace is not straight. We must maintain international, national, and regional consensus and slowly, God willing, bring those who favor war toward peace. For this to happen, every member of the Afghan nation must consider themselves an individual ambassador for peace. Mr. Sabawon and all other leaders! We must clearly commit ourselves to peace. We are a people tied to one another; therefore, peace is not just the work of the state, but the work of the entire nation, and we must see it through.

The 7th and final point is Reform. Reform is a mandate of the Constitution. What other constitution says with such clarity that administrative reform must occur, repeating the call to eradicate corruption from the preamble to the very end? This is not my personal whim; unless we bring reform, we will not stand on our feet. Let me give you an example: our natural wealth is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, yet we sit here hungry and thirsty. Why? Because the foundation was not there, and some people wanted to plunder our natural wealth and divide it among themselves. I did not come to plunder, nor will I allow plundering.

The core point is very simple. I repeat the words of the people regarding reform: Rules must prevail over relations, and the job must be given to the capable. The entire philosophy of our reforms is contained in these two sentences. When rules prevail over relations, the equality of every Afghan to another is ensured. Otherwise, we create "two rates" and "one roof, two climates"—where someone with connections finds the doors of government and the private sector open, while someone with ideas is left behind. Show us where this great nation of Afghanistan has ever been an obstacle to reform. My point is this: let us observe a "fast" for six or ten years. In the past, people would observe a forty-day or forty-year spiritual retreat (Chilla); I am not asking for forty years. I am humbly asking for six to ten years. The result will be centuries of light.

Prosperity for Afghanistan is mandatory for us. It is necessary to set a few simple but clear goals as national objectives:

1. We must raise Afghanistan's economic growth to 9%. Without that, given the population growth, poverty will only increase regardless of any other economic progress.

2. We must increase Afghanistan’s national revenue to 8 billion dollars, at most within five years.

3. We must fundamentally shift Afghanistan's trade balance from negative to positive. Currently, our imports are seven times our exports; in truth, we are emptying our own pockets. The tragedy is that 80% of these imports are things that could be produced within Afghanistan.

I once again congratulate Hazrat Sahib and all the esteemed Mujahideen present on this great day and thank them. At that time when you decided, Hazrat Sahib, to raise the flag and the sacred banner and make your declaration, people thought it was—God forbid—not the path of reason or prudence. But you persisted. You and the other honorable Jihadi leaders present here—and may God (SWT) forgive those leaders who are no longer among us—you made that decision because you understood the pulse of the nation. You felt the pulse of the people accurately. The result was a great epic and a massive achievement. Now, it is necessary to celebrate this blessed day and firmly share this resolve with the people: that we have the intention to build, to end the crisis, and to make Afghanistan prosper.

Yashasin Afghanistan! [Long live Afghanistan!]

Zindabad Afghanistan! [Long live Afghanistan!]

Tel de wi Afghanistan! [May Afghanistan live forever!]