Thousands of Afghans living in Peshawar were on the streets overnight to mark the occasion but, according to some media reports, some Afghan nationals in Hayatbad Phase III area of Peshawar, closed roads and were chanting slogans.

The revelers pelted police when officers arrived on the scene. The police have arrested at least 28 people from two locations.

An image of the FIR registered against Afghan nationals was also posted on Twitter by a user.

According to the FIR, the police claims the men were chanting anti-Pakistan slogans.

The FIR also states some Afghan refugees blocked the main road in Peshawar in Hayatabad. They were carrying the Afghan flag, and a few were chanting slogans.

#Pakistan - Police in Peahawar arrested 9 Afghans for waving #AfghanFlag. The police say this act instigated fight between Pakistanis and Afghans.
!!!???

Via @JBaghwan

Today’s #Afghanistan Independence Day. pic.twitter.com/FhiQSzNVnj

— Bashir Ahmad Gwakh (@bashirgwakh) August 19, 2021

According to VOA, however, Pakistani police claim to have arrested 9 people when they were waving Afghanistan's national flag.

Social media has been flooded with videos of defiant Afghans celebrating Independence Day.

At least two people were killed in Asadabad when Taliban opened gunfire at the crowd who was celebrating. Al Jazeera reported that a member of the crowd celebrating the day stabbed a Taliban fighter with a knife, prompting the Taliban to open fire.

Just a day earlier, the Taliban had fired to disperse crowds in Jalalabad who were waving the Afghan flag ahead of Thursday's celebration.

The Taliban flag is a plain white banner inscribed with the Muslim declaration of faith.

This year marks the 102nd independence of Afghanistan. As an article in Tolo News notes, although Afghanistan was never part of the British Empire, "it gained its independence from Britain after the signing of the Anglo-Afghan Treaty in 1919 – a treaty that granted complete neutral relations between Afghanistan and Britain."

Traditionally the Taliban have commemorated the event by issuing a statement. This year, the occasion fell a few days after they took control of the country.

The Taliban have issued a declaration “on the occasion of the 102nd anniversary of the country’s independence from British rule,” their spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said.

له انګریزي ښکیلاک نه د هیواد د خپلواکي د یوسل او دویمې کلیزې په مناسبت د افغانستان إسلامي امارت اعلامیهhttps://t.co/HfZUIHnCJp pic.twitter.com/jQViMYERpW

— Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م ) (@Zabehulah_M33) August 19, 2021