KABUL: The Taliban government celebrated five years of ruling Afghanistan on Saturday, with supporters taking to the streets. Afghans packed into cars decorated with flags and drove around Kabul on a day that government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said "will be written in golden lines in the history of Afghanistan".
Hundreds gathered around a square beside the former US embassy, while fresh flowers were thrown from military helicopters over a parade of athletes that featured only men because women are banned from sport in Afghanistan.
The number of checkpoints was increased on Saturday in the capital, where some of the vehicles abandoned by foreign forces, such as Humvees, were driven in convoy. Afghans also rallied in other key cities including southern Kandahar, home to the supreme leader, and western Herat where stuntmen performed in the streets, journalists said.
Zia Ahmad Takal, a foreign ministry spokesman, invited countries to "come here, invest, and make extensive use of the available economic opportunities" in Afghanistan. GDP per capita is in decline, due to more than six million Afghans arriving from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan in three years, while the World Bank estimated real growth reaching 4.8 per cent. — AFP
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