9 August 2009 - Afghanistan’s most popular singer, Farhad Darya today called on his countrymen and women to actively participate in the upcoming presidential and provincial council elections.

“I am not working for any particular candidates, but I am supporting the culture of elections and the culture of merits,” he said at a press conference in Kabul today.

In his most recent three songs – Atan (Afghanistan’s national dance), De Kor Dewaaloona (the Walls of the House) and Sarzamine Man (My Homeland) – he sings for Afghan unity and urges people to think of Afghanistan as a shared centre and put aside differences.

Darya, who has been touring Afghanistan since 3 August, is trying to use his voice to encourage Afghans to take part in the democratic process. He says he will send this message to the people during his forthcoming concert in Kabul.

“Through my songs and voice, I would like to tell my people that don’t think ‘for a particular race nor for a particular language’, but let’s think about Afghanistan,” he said.

He added that he is encouraging all Afghans to vote wisely.

Darya has written and sung in most of Afghanistan’s many languages, including Farsi-Dari, Pashto, Uzbek, Hazaragi, and Urdu, among others.

Darya currently serves as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme.

By Jamil Danish, UNAMA