IEA cancel public holiday for Nowruz but say celebrations allowed

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) said there would be no public holiday for the Persian New Year this week, but stated they would not stop people from celebrating the festival.

Persian New Year, known as Nowruz and celebrated throughout Iran and Central Asia, is a popular festival in Afghanistan and is usually marked by a public holiday, when families gather to prepare festive dishes and welcome the beginning of spring.

Mohammad Yunus Sidiqi, spokesman for the labour ministry, told Reuters that there would be no official public holiday on Monday, when Nowruz was set to take place.

An information ministry spokesman said the holiday was not in accordance with Islamic law, but that private celebrations by civilians would be allowed.

“We are not officially celebrating Nowruz,” said Abdul Ahad Amad, head of publications at the information ministry. “If people want to do something we are not preventing them.”

Though workers will have to return to the office and public university students said exams had been scheduled for Monday, there were signs that Afghans would still celebrate.

Colourful flags were strung up across streets in parts of Kabul and the leaders of mosques in the capital and the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif said they were preparing for a traditional banner-raising ceremony known as Jahenda Bala, but were waiting for guidance from authorities on whether they would be able to go ahead.