All religious groups including non-Muslims can observe their ceremonies freely in Afghanistan, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, deputy foreign minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), said on Monday.

Stanikzai said this while speaking at a ceremony in Kabul to celebrate Ashura which falls on the 10th day of the lunar calendar month of Muharram and commemorates the martyrdom in 680 AD of Imam Hussain Ibn Ali, one of the grandsons of the Prophet Mohammad.

“Based on the policy of the Islamic Emirate, all religious groups in Afghanistan are free to celebrate religious days and observe their ceremonies. There is no problem. Even non-Muslim minorities are free in this regard,” Stanikzai said.

He said that some countries see their interest in Afghanistan to be unstable and people should support the current government against such conspiracies.

“They don’t want to build Afghanistan and they see their interest in how Afghanistan has been. It is our duty to build our country,” Stanikza said.

Referring to civil war in Afghanistan post-Soviet withdrawal, Stanikzai said that some Afghans destroyed the country only to ensure their own interests.

“Our country couldn’t enjoy the pleasure of Soviet defeat. Some Afghans fought each other for power or out of personal grudge and destroyed our country,” Stanikzai said.