From Citizen-Centric Justice to Sustainable Peace: Strengthening Unity, Democratic Institutions, and Balanced Development

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

My esteemed brother, Professor Danesh, First Deputy to the President of Afghanistan; my esteemed brother, His Excellency Dr. Abdullah, Chief Executive of the National Unity Government; Respected Mr. Ibrahimi; Respected Mr. Muslimyar; Honorable Mohammad Khan; the Chief Justice; the Attorney General; distinguished members of the cabinet; elders, revered religious scholars, university professors, vibrant youth, honored sisters, attendees of this assembly, and my dear compatriots—first and foremost, I offer you the timeless greeting of the leader of humanity: Peace be upon you, alongside the blessings and mercy of Allah!

Executive Accountability and the Eradication of Civilian Casualties

Before I delve into the core themes of today’s commemoration, I must address a paramount issue in my capacity as the head of a responsible state. The single greatest tragedy in any conflict is the occurrence of civilian casualties. Whenever a report of civilian loss reaches me, I am cut to the quick with profound sorrow, just like any other Afghan citizen. The leadership of the National Unity Government, alongside the high command of our National Security and Defense Forces, views civilian casualties as entirely intolerable and unacceptable—regardless of the context or the number of individuals affected. For the past several years, every single report concerning civilian harm has been handled with the utmost institutional gravity, rigorously investigated, and thoroughly followed up. Our continuous, unyielding effort has been to prevent civilian casualties entirely.

In light of the reports regarding civilian casualties that have surfaced over the past few days, I have taken immediate and decisive action. At twelve o’clock today, I have summoned the entire leadership and high command of the Security and Defense Forces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. They are required not only to provide definitive clarity and comprehensive briefings on the ongoing investigations into past incidents, but we will also engage in a rigorous, binding strategic dialogue on how to systematically prevent such unfortunate events in the future and drive the rate of civilian casualties down to absolute zero.

I have issued explicit, binding operational directives to all commanders of our security forces: regardless of how high-value or critical a target may be, if there is even the slightest probability of a single civilian casualty occurring at that location, they must hold the operation, wait for a safer window, or abandon the strike entirely. Our National Security and Defense Forces are profoundly committed to international humanitarian law and the laws of armed conflict. Even when actively engaged with a brutal enemy or launching an assault, they strive to deliver a balanced, legally proportionate, and highly responsible response.

The Intellectual Legacy of Martyr Mazari: Intellectualism, Social Justice, and Institutional Modernity

Dear compatriots! I offer my deepest condolences to the entire nation of Afghanistan and to all the dedicated followers of his path on this twenty-fourth anniversary of the martyrdom of the Leader of National Unity, Martyr Professor Mazari. Similarly, I offer my profound prayers for all the celebrated and unnamed martyrs of our beloved country. I extend a specific note of deep sympathy to the families of those who lost their lives in the recent attack at the Mazari Musalla, and I pray for the swift and complete recovery of all those who were wounded.

Professor Mazari was an exceptionally thoughtful and deeply value-driven politician. His vision for the realization of lasting peace, structural social stability, and comprehensive social justice was rooted firmly in the establishment of a democratic governance system that draws its legitimacy entirely from the votes of the people through transparent elections. He repeatedly emphasized that the public must become the absolute masters of their own destiny through clean, fair, and transparent democratic processes. He is the author of that immortal, renowned declaration:

"We view national unity in Afghanistan as an absolute, non-negotiable principle."

Martyr Mazari repeatedly and accurately stated that war is never the solution to Afghanistan's complex national challenges. No single ethnic group or political faction can ever hope to systematically eliminate or erase another ethnic group or faction. The only viable path forward is a comprehensive peace that answers the fundamental aspirations and rights of all our people.

Now, with twenty-four years of historical distance behind us, the time has come to conduct deeper, more rigorous research into our national and historical figures. We must elevate the academic study of figures like Mazari and Massoud into a vibrant, nationwide discourse across our intellectual circles. In this regard, I want to express my profound gratitude to Professor Danesh and his dedicated team for compiling and publishing those two remarkably significant journals, Justice and Hope, for the years 1396 and 1397.

I have meticulously reviewed all these academic articles, and with the permission of Professor Danesh and the respective authors, I would like to highlight several foundational principles that I have extracted from these works:

• The Foundation of Governance: The first core principle is captured in the very title: Justice. Within the sublime faith of Islam, justice is the absolute foundation of a legitimate state system. Without a steadfast commitment to justice, an institutional system simply cannot survive; it inevitably loses its moral compass and drifts into corruption and decay.

• The Catalyst for Transformation: The second key concept is Hope. We do not seek a stagnant or theoretical justice; rather, we champion a transformative justice that actively inspires hope, sparks structural evolution, and drives positive, tangible change across society.

I want to thank Professor Danesh primarily for his role as a vital bridge between generations, as a close and lifelong companion of the late Martyr Mazari, and as a true champion of national intellectual production. Martyr Mazari transformed the generation of progressive ideas into a core life objective. Today, under the scholarly stewardship of Professor Danesh, alongside our highly capable university professors and cultural networks, a vibrant, nationwide intellectual discourse is being systematically established and expanded.

Furthermore, these works have succeeded in forging a brand-new political vocabulary derived directly from the core concepts championed by Martyr Mazari. Specifically, the concept of justice has been elevated into a comprehensive, contemporary debate concerning the modern state of Afghanistan. What is truly remarkable and commendable in these academic journals is that I did not detect a single trace of superficial personality cults or blind hero worship. Instead, what shines through is a rigorous focus on an essential, principled path and the systematic ideological evolution of a profound statesman. I congratulate all of you on this intellectual milestone.

This literature introduces critical, analytical inquiries that are genuinely unprecedented in our modern history. It fearlessly poses two profound questions:

1. How do we engage in a rational, critical, and intellectually honest assessment of Mazari's life and philosophy?

2. How do we inherit and apply the rich legacy of Martyr Mazari while accurately accounting for the highly specific spatial and temporal constraints of the era in which he lived and fought?

These are the exact dimensions that our leadership—including Professor Danesh, Dr. Abdullah, Mr. Rezaie, and our respected sisters—have collectively emphasized today.

Additionally, these writings outline the path toward achieving a highly capable, modern state. Our intellectual colleagues have expertly analyzed the modern concept of inclusive citizenship within the explicit framework of constructing a modern, institutionalized, and strong government. In the past, there was a deep-seated historical anxiety regarding the empowerment of the population as a unified entity. Today, we are witnessing a monumental paradigm shift: a strong, empowered nation fundamentally requires a democratic, transparent, and accountable state. The theory of social justice is now being articulated through the lens of the most advanced comparative models of modern governance. I congratulate our entire intellectual community on achieving this sophisticated level of academic scholarship.

This literature beautifully reflects the vital relationship between the citizen and the state within Martyr Mazari’s philosophy, establishing a constructive discourse on the multi-dimensional facets of Afghan national unity. Within these academic debates, national unity is never treated as a mere empty political slogan; rather, it is approached as a constructive, comprehensive blueprint. It details how the absolute equality of every single Afghan citizen with every other Afghan citizen can be structurally guaranteed within a stable, powerful, prosperous, and self-reliant nation. This represents a profound level of political maturity. It proves that the generation that was only ten years old at the time of his passing, and stands at thirty-four today, represents a highly distinct intellectual generation rooted deeply in the philosophical foundations of Martyr Mazari. This milestone is a matter of profound pride not only for our Hazara brothers and sisters but for the entire population of Afghanistan.

The final pillar of this discourse is the equal, structural participation of women as full citizens. I congratulate Professor Danesh and all his colleagues on this remarkable trajectory. Over the past three years since we initiated these formalized commemorations, our focus has evolved significantly. While the early years focused primarily on honoring the memory of the late Martyr, today his legacy has been successfully transformed into a vibrant, nationwide discourse anchored firmly upon modern, institutional concepts. This evolution fills us with immense hope. It is my sincere wish that these profound academic texts are rapidly translated into Pashto and Uzbek so that they may become fully integrated into the mainstream national consciousness of all Afghan citizens.

In the same vein, it is my hope that Dr. Abdullah and our colleagues at the Massoud Foundation will publish the personal journals and writings of the late Martyr Ahmad Shah Massoud. We must foster a comprehensive, nationwide dialogue detailing the distinct dimensions of Martyr Massoud’s character, alongside the legacies of Martyr Professor Rabbani, the late Hazrat Sahib, and our other distinguished national and Jihadi leaders. This will enable our entire society to deeply comprehend the specific historical contexts in which they operated, the gravity of the decisions they were forced to make, and how our contemporary realities dictate our current national discourse and strategic trajectory.

Transitioning from Subjects to Equal Citizens

A foundational pillar of the philosophy of the Leader of National Unity, Martyr Abdul Ali Mazari, is the structural realization of social justice. The time has officially arrived for our society to transcend the archaic culture of treating the population as mere passive subjects (Ra'iyat) and fully transition into a modern, citizen-centric political culture (Shahrwand-Mihwari).

We, the people of Afghanistan, are inherently liberty-loving and independent; we refuse to live as subjugated subjects under the absolute rule of the sword, violence, or automatic weapons. Our historical path is the path of institutional citizenship.

The consolidation of our national unity depends entirely on this citizen-centric blueprint. Within a clear social contract, all citizens achieve uncompromising justice and structural, equal participation by virtue of their reciprocal legal rights and obligations. These shared rights and duties serve as the ultimate engine that reinforces and solidifies our national unity.

However, building a citizen-centric society requires significant material resources. Equal citizenship inherently demands balanced national development, and achieving this objective necessitates grand structural interventions. Grand, nation-scale development programs that comprehensively encompass all populations and geographies of Afghanistan are the only mechanisms capable of effectively establishing, nurturing, and guaranteeing a citizen-centric reality.

Furthermore, this transformation cannot occur in an institutional vacuum; it is exceptionally difficult to cultivate a culture of citizenship in the absence of a strong centralized government. Our overriding strategic goal is the construction of a highly capable, modern state. Only under the protective umbrella of a powerful state and through rigorous, systematic nation-building can we truly institutionalize a vibrant citizen-centric political culture.

By systematically engineering an environment of equal citizenship, we will permanently dismantle separate, isolated political fiefdoms and islands of lawlessness. Guided by forward-looking, strategic planning, we will finally realize the practical equality of every single Afghan with every other Afghan.

Let us be entirely explicit: in authoritarian or despotic systems, the raw power of the state is deliberately engineered to weaken and suppress the population. In a true constitutional democracy, the inverse is true—the absolute strength of the state is the ultimate guarantee of the power, safety, and liberty of the people.

Eliminating Bureaucratic Inertia and Enforcing Balanced Development

Dear compatriots! Your National Unity Government has definitively proven its political will and commitment to serve the public through the precise design, capitalization, and execution of grand national infrastructure projects. Our strategic intent is entirely transparent; however, we must candidly acknowledge that serious operational inefficiencies persist within our administrative machineries.

Despite the absolute availability of state funding and explicit executive authority, several major projects are moving at an unacceptable, sluggish pace. This inertia points directly to deep rooted structural challenges within specific government departments. Numerous critical infrastructure initiatives—such as the vital Gardan Diwar Highway project—should have been accelerated and completed far sooner. Bureaucratic stagnation across our ministries has historically blocked the timely delivery of these assets, and these administrative bottlenecks must be completely eliminated without delay.

It is entirely obvious that a nation cannot be built through empty political slogans. Intent and political will must be translated into precise, technical blueprints, and those blueprints must be aggressively transformed into real-world practice. Over the past four and a half years, I have conducted more than sixty official provincial oversight missions. The singular, driving purpose behind this intense mobilization is to ensure that balanced development becomes a reality across every single province, unlocking nationwide prosperity and structural growth.

By the profound grace of Almighty Allah, our vast natural wealth and mineral resources are distributed equitably across all regions of this country. Our overriding objective is the systematic eradication of geographic marginalization. We must all join hands to achieve these grand national milestones; our internal policy debates must remain constructive, evidence-based, and focused entirely on nation-building.

We intimately understand the collective pain and structural grievances shared by all Afghans. We have comprehensively mapped out the specific development capacities, economic bottlenecks, and infrastructure deficits of every province. Provincial development will be executed with absolute geographic balance. Furthermore, we are currently executing an aggressive, fundamental overhaul of our provincial governance structures. The formal strategic roadmap has been finalized, and the necessary macro-conditions are being established to ensure its rigorous enforcement.

To secure our absolute economic sovereignty, we must prioritize national self-reliance. We must establish clear, non-negotiable benchmarks for self-sufficiency and rapidly implement actionable operational roadmaps to achieve them.

Our ultimate, sacred aspiration is to rescue Afghanistan from its historical dependency on foreign charity. To reach this horizon, progress and industrial development are non-negotiable. Afghanistan will be lifted out of dependency by those patriots who build bridges, construct highways, establish schools, and engineer modern state infrastructure. Conversely, those forces engaged in systematic destruction and sabotage desire nothing less than to keep this proud country permanently dependent on external patrons.

The Ballot Box as the Ultimate Guarantor of Constitutional Democracy

Sisters and brothers! The Leader of National Unity, Martyr Mazari, consistently championed the creation of an unyielding, just, and transparent electoral system. Today, that historic vision is actively transitioning into reality. The newly appointed members of our electoral commissions have assumed office through an unprecedentedly transparent, collaborative selection process.

The execution of democratic elections is a strict constitutional mandate that is completely non-negotiable. The state will mobilize every ounce of its available resources—both in terms of complete financial capitalization and robust security planning—to secure the ballot box.

However, we look to the informed, dignified citizens of Afghanistan—men and women alike—to actively prepare for this vital national process. You must exercise your sovereign right to vote in the upcoming presidential election and actively shape the destiny of your country. Learning from past operational missteps, we have established all necessary institutional frameworks to facilitate comprehensive election monitoring, and we will ruthlessly block any form of administrative or political interference.

Your vote is the ultimate guarantor of our constitutional democracy and the foundational pillar for the consolidation of our state system. Anyone who genuinely respects and honors the legacy of Martyr Abdul Ali Mazari must demonstrate that commitment by stamping their ink-stained finger at the ballot box.

The Consolidation of National Consensus on Peace

Dear compatriots! Following exhaustive diplomatic and political efforts, the peace process has successfully migrated from a marginalized topic straight into the text of our national strategy. In every single regional community meeting I attend and every province I visit, I hear the thunderous, unified voice of our people demanding peace and endorsing our strategic path. Peace has officially become the dominant, defining discourse of our era.

Our preparations for peace did not begin overnight. It is the direct result of a sustained, calculated, and deeply inclusive consultative process initiated by the National Unity Government that we have successfully arrived at this pivotal historical juncture.

It was our administration that aggressively mobilized the international community to engage in structured dialogues with the Taliban, effectively transforming peace from an incidental, peripheral topic into the core axis of Afghan national politics. Over twelve years ago, I meticulously analyzed roughly 100 global peace accords executed throughout modern history to discover a viable, scientifically grounded path toward peace for our own country. Even then, I arrived at a definitive conclusion: in some global instances, poorly calculated peace agreements lasted for only a few days, while in others, disciplined frameworks established a permanent stability. We do not seek a fragile, temporary truce; we demand a permanent, sustainable, and generational peace.

The absolute ownership of the peace process belongs exclusively to the sovereign people and the legitimate Government of Afghanistan. Our peace strategy is rigorously calculated and stems directly from the organic demands of our population. On the 9th of Thawr next year, we will convene the grand Consultative Loya Jirga—the ultimate manifestation of the sovereign public will. I call upon all compatriots to actively and vibrantly participate in both this national consultative assembly and the upcoming democratic elections.

The strategic agenda of this Loya Jirga is explicitly defined. This national assembly will formally determine the non-negotiable boundaries, the negotiating frameworks, and the precise definition and structural parameters of our peace process.

Generational Renewal, Regional Connectivity, and Infrastructure Delivery

Dear compatriots! A profound generational shift is one of the greatest structural assets of our nation today. I am immensely proud of our highly creative, innovative, and deeply educated younger generation, and our administration is systematically transferring vital state responsibilities into their capable hands every single day.

The modern youth of our Hazara community represents a radical paradigm shift from previous decades. Their profound intellectual transformation, the self-organized creation of advanced educational academies, the establishment of schools and cultural centers, and the mobilization of highly vibrant civic networks are a source of immense national pride. These local networks possess the unique capacity to transform into powerful bridges of connectivity for the entire population of Afghanistan, and it is my profound hope that they rapidly expand to fulfill this unifying role.

In closing, I pay the ultimate tribute to the sacred souls of all our fallen martyrs. I formally announce today that the government stands fully prepared to partner directly with our citizens and the Board of Trustees of the Martyr Mazari Musalla to comprehensively reconstruct this historic site.

Dr. Abdullah and I have sat alongside you at this very location through torrential downpours, heavy winter snows, and the blistering heat of the summer sun. It is our sincere hope that the trustees and the local community will finalize a unified architectural plan, enabling us to build a modern, state-of-the-art convention facility capable of hosting grand assemblies, financed through a robust partnership between the state and the community.

Furthermore, I am officially informing you that our comprehensive infrastructure packages for Dasht-e Barchi, alongside our major foundational projects for the Central Highlands (Hazarajat), will be aggressively accelerated. The formalized project registry has been finalized and will be distributed to you independently. Crucially, the vital water management and irrigation infrastructure project for Dasht-e Barchi will transition into active field implementation without delay.

Additionally, the construction of the Erfani Highway alongside several other critical arterial roads is currently moving through the final stages of the National Procurement Committee, and we will celebrate their formal groundbreaking very shortly. We are completely determined to systematically shatter the geographical isolation that has historically imprisoned our central regions. We will transform Central Afghanistan into the premier transit hub, the core trade corridor, and the vibrant, beating heart connecting Afghanistan and wider Asia.

Although the Leader of National Unity sacrificed his life on the path of national reconciliation, his core values and grand aspirations remain entirely alive. The day is fast approaching, Inshallah, when a permanent peace will reign over this land, and the sovereign people of Afghanistan will live in prosperity, tranquility, peaceful coexistence, and absolute equality within the framework of a just, powerful, and accountable state.