By Missum Shafiee

With Dr. Abdullah's arrival in Mazar-I Sharif, the city of Mazar took a different atmosphere. In this trip that Dr. Abdullah, because of the unprecedented support of the people of Balkh province made to the city, hundreds of thousands of people, men and women alike, participated and poured out their undeniable backing of Dr. Abdullah's candidacy for the presidency of Afghanistan.

This rally that took place in the courtyard of the Rawza-ye Sharif (Caliph Ali's Shrine) was so big that when you took a step around the shrine or outside the walls, it was as if the tulips had opened and the new year had arrived (reference to the New Year Celebration when multitudes gather in this place to greet the new year). All participants were happy and excited to be part of this rally.

Everywhere photos and slogans showed the interest and enthusiasm of the province's people for Dr. Abdullah. The ambiance showed that it was a special day for a special candidate, as other candidates that had thus far come here had not gotten such a reception.

Dr. Abdullah, according to the announcer, arrived at Mazar Airport at 10 am. Everyone was waiting for him until Dr. Abdullah, his entourage, the press corps and a large circle of reception people arrived in the Rawza area.

Alam Khan Azadi, people's representative in the Parliament, while mentioning Dr. Abdullah's role in the Jehad (against the Soviets) and Muqawemat (resistance against the Taliban and Al Qaida), considered Dr. Abdullah the only candidate that has no rival and no competition and is the frontrunner. He said “Now is the time that with the cards in our hand we vote for him and explicitly prove our resolute support of him.”

After Mr. Azadi's speech, it was time for the candidate, the man beloved of Afghanistan and especially the inhabitants of Balkh to let people know about his programs and the election process.

Dr Abdullah thanked his supporters for their backing and talked about his program “Consolidating Afghanistan's relations with neighbors and other countries of the world, building the Shortepa electric dam, balanced development, assuring national unity, assuring security, increasing people's economic standing, building and repair of roads in the remote districts, building schools in forgotten places, creating jobs for youth and other people are part of our priorities.

Dr. Abdullah appreciated Ustad Atta Mohammad Noor, the Governor of Balkh, and counted him as the most active governor at the national level and said that the Balkh province with the attention of the governor is one of the most secure provinces of the country and enjoys a fantastic reconstruction.

Dr. Abdullah added that Balkh is fortunate that it has a governor like Atta Mohammad Noor. In Balkh security is assured, education has grown, and conditions for national unity are also ready.

This extensive rally took place in the city of Mazar, the center city of Balkh province while there are only seven more days left before Election Day.