KABUL, Aug 31, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The Taliban declared Wednesday a national
holiday and lit up the capital with coloured lights to celebrate the first
anniversary of the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan after a
brutal 20-year war.

The country's new rulers -- not formally recognised by any other nation --
have reimposed their harsh version of Islamic law on the impoverished
country, with women squeezed out of public life.

But despite the restrictions, and a deepening humanitarian crisis, many
Afghans say they are glad the foreign force that prompted the Taliban
insurgency has gone.

"We are happy that Allah got rid of the infidels from our country, and the
Islamic Emirate has been established," said Zalmai, a resident of Kabul.

The withdrawal of troops at midnight as August 31 began last year ended
America's longest war -- a military intervention that began in the wake of
the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York.

Some 66,000 Afghan troops and 48,000 civilians were killed in the conflict,
but it was the deaths of US service members -- 2,461 in total -- that became
too much for the American public to bear.

More than 3,500 troops from other NATO countries were also killed.

"The burden of the war in Afghanistan, however, went beyond Americans," the
US military said Tuesday.

Two weeks before the end of last year's withdrawal, the Taliban seized power
following a lightning offensive against government forces.

Banners celebrating victories against three empires -- the former Soviet
Union and Britain also lost wars in Afghanistan -- were flying in Kabul on
Wednesday.

Hundreds of white Taliban flags bearing the Islamic proclamation of faith
flew from lamposts and government buildings.

Late Tuesday, the skies above Kabul were lit up with fireworks and
celebratory gunfire from crowds of Taliban fighters.

In Massoud Square, near the former US embassy, armed fighters carrying
Taliban flags chanted "Death to America". Others drove across the city
honking their horns.

- Flaunting equipment -

Taliban social media accounts posted scores of videos and pictures of newly
trained troops -- many flaunting the US military equipment left behind in the
haste of Washington's chaotic withdrawal.

"This is how you troll a superpower after humiliating them and forcing them
to withdraw from your country," read the caption of one post on Twitter
featuring a photo of a giant Taliban flag now painted on the wall of the
former US embassy.

Despite the Taliban's pride in taking over, Afghanistan's 38 million people
now face a desperate humanitarian crisis -- aggravated after billions of
dollars in assets were frozen and foreign aid dried up.

Hardships for ordinary Afghans, especially women, have increased.

The Taliban have shut secondary girls' schools in many provinces and barred
women from many government jobs.

They have also ordered women to fully cover up in public -- ideally with an
all-encompassing burqa.

"Now I'm sitting at home without a job," said Oranoos Omerzai, a resident of
Kandahar, the de facto power centre of the Taliban.

Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid insisted "major achievements" had
been recorded in the past year.

"Afghans are no more being killed in war, foreign forces have withdrawn, and
security has improved," he told reporters last week.