The recent criticism of Nowruz as an un-Islamic celebration is baseless, the Afghan Ministry of Culture and Information said Thursday.

Speaking in a ceremony in Kabul, Deputy Minister for Information and Culture Mobarez Rashidi said that Nowroz is a festival that has been celebrated for thousands of years in the region.

"We should not use religion to fight with the beauty and traditions which have been embraced for generations," Rashidi said.

"There has been no reaction to the spring festival from our religious leaders in the history. How can we say that God brings a green spring and we should say we are against it?" Rashidi said.

The Norwoz festival which ushers in the Persian new year at the start of spring has been denounced by some religious scholars and elements within the government as a celebration that belongs to religions and cultures other than Islam.

Thousands of Afghans gathered in Kabul and in the country's northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif at ceremonies to celebrate the event.

President Hamid Karzai attended a regional celebration of Nowroz in Turkmenistan, where his counterparts from the region, including Tajikistan, has come for the celebration.