In a visit to Kandahar, his second in fortnight, President Hamid Karzai prayed at a mosque, mixed freely with ordinary people, walked into shops and enquired how businesses were doing, and visited two schools in the city where he encouraged students and promised that new schools will be built and older ones in need of repair will be renovated.

The President arrived in Kandahar with Ustad Burhanuddin Rabbani straight after retuning from the Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat where he had gone with a delegation to attend the funeral of the late Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov.

The President returned to Kabul on Tuesday afternoon. He offered the night prayers on Monday at the Rahees Ata Jan mosque along with Kandahar citizens. Ustad Rabbani met officials and influential citizens of Kandahar.

The President urged teachers to be especially mindful of their students as they were the future of Afghanistan. He promised help with the renovation of schools. After the prayer, the President visited the Martyrs’ Square and talked with shopkeepers and vendors.

He walked into a mobile phone shop. The shopkeeper informed the President that his business was doing quite well and his income was satisfactory.

The President said, “The rain and snowfall were a good omen. He asked people as he went along about the security situation, the pace of reconstruction, and their everyday life.

On Tuesday morning, the President visited the Afghan-Turk High School and Zarghuna Girl Secondary School. Encouraging the students to study better and work harder, the President said students and teachers were the makers of the country’s welfare for the future; it is on them that the future prosperity of the country rested.

The President visited classrooms and various sections of both schools. Seeing the poor condition of school buildings, the President was distressed and said that thousands of schools in Afghanistan were in a similar condition or worse, and said that new schools will be built and the old ones repaired.

The President promised the officials of Zarghuna secondary school that as soon as possible the school will be reconstructed.

The President was really happy to see the Afghan-Turk High School, which is in good shape. The President hoped that all schools will be equipped and modernized in the manner of the Afghan-Turk High School.

The President met the students of this school who have secured the first position in ecology and Turkish languages tests among students from 75 countries. In a gesture of encouragement, the President put medals around their necks and said that these students were the pride of Afghanistan.

In the competition held in Turkey, Abdul Rahman Faizi won the gold medal in the Turkish language category while Shah Mahmoud and Waisuddin came on top in ecology.

Terming these intelligent students a model for Afghanistan, the President said in recent years the hard working people of Afghanistan by paying attention and encouraging their children for learning and getting education, had laid a firm base for the future of their country.