Spokesman for the Taliban negotiating delegation in Doha Suhail Shaheen blasted the Americans for the spread of recent violence in Afghanistan.
“During the talks, Americans promised us that they are responsible for the security and administration of Kabul. Therefore, they (Americans) are responsible for any increase of violence in Afghanistan,” Shaheen said.
He held the U.S. accountable for the main reasons behind escalation of violence in Afghanistan in the recent months despite inter-Afghan talks.
Shaheen pointed out that the Americans increased the attacks on Taliban forces, and said, “We, in return, were forced to defend ourselves. The Americans attribute all the attacks that they or their proxy forces are carrying out in Afghanistan to the Taliban.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday that his country has always backed dialogue among different Afghan groups, stressing that Kabul has been informed of the Taliban group’s trip to Tehran.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always been supportive of negotiations among various groups in Afghanistan,” Khatibzadeh said, stressing that the Taliban’s recent trip to Tehran has been with the knowledge of the Afghan government.
“The Taliban are part of the reality of Afghanistan. They have several offices in some countries and are in direct talks with the Afghan government,” he noted and added, “This visit was made in the framework of the ongoing talks between the Afghan government and this group.”
“All talks took place either at the request of the government of this country or with their coordination,” the spokesman went on to say.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a meeting with a delegation of the Taliban, headed by the head of the group’s political bureau, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in Tehran on Sunday discussed the latest developments in Afghanistan.
During the meeting, Zarif expressed satisfaction with the idea of formation of an inclusive government with participation of all ethnic and political groups in Afghanistan, and said, “Political decisions cannot be made in a vacuum and an inclusive government should be formed through the process of partnership and taking into account the fundamental structures, institutional laws, including the constitution.”
He underlined Iran’s readiness to facilitate talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government and other groups in Afghanistan, saying, “The good people of Afghanistan are oppressed. The war and occupation of Afghanistan have inflicted major damage on them.”
“I hope that all your efforts will be made to end the people’s suffering and to remove the pretexts for occupiers by establishing peace in Afghanistan as soon as possible,” Zarif said.
In the meeting, the Taliban delegation briefed the Iranian foreign minister on the peace process and intra-Afghan talks, saying that Iran-Afghanistan relations have always been based on friendship and good neighborliness.
They expressed the hope that relations between the two countries would further expand with the establishment of peace and tranquility in Afghanistan.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, for his part, referred to the ISIL’s destructive role in Afghanistan and the region, and voiced satisfaction in the process of intra-Afghan talks.
He described formation of an inclusive government with the partnership of all ethnic and political groups as necessary to establish peace in Afghanistan.
