Mujahideen Victory Day

Mujahideen Victory Day in Afghanistan falls on April 28, corresponding to 8 Sawr, and recalls the collapse of President Mohammad Najibullah’s Soviet-backed government in 1992 as mujahideen forces entered Kabul. The event followed years of war after the Soviet withdrawal and the March 1992 end of Russian support to the government. It ended one political order but did not bring stable peace: rival factions soon fought for Kabul, civilians suffered extensive casualties and destruction, and the first Taliban movement later emerged amid the disorder.

That difficult aftermath makes April 28 a politically and personally complex anniversary. The 2007 republic-era Labour Law listed 8 Sawr as a paid public holiday. A current de facto foreign-ministry mission calendar still labels April 28 Mujahideen Victory Day, and the de facto prime minister’s office issued a dedicated statement in April 2026. That statement celebrates resistance to Soviet-backed rule but also acknowledges that factional warfare destroyed hopes for peace after the 1992 victory.

The guide records the current closure and the official name without endorsing a single heroic account. Veterans, families of people killed during the anti-Soviet war, survivors of the subsequent civil war and younger Afghans can understand the date differently. Government offices and listed missions close, while ceremonies may be limited to statements or institutional programmes. Private-sector schedules should be confirmed locally, and no automatic substitute date is assumed when April 28 coincides with Afghanistan’s Friday rest day.