Iran briefed about crackdown on Daesh, illicit drugs

KABUL (Pajhwok): Afghanistan’s frozen assets should be used for humanitarian purposes and improvement of living conditions for the Afghans, says Iran. Following Taliban’s takeover of the country in August last year, the US and its allies blocked Da Afghanistan Bank reserves worth nearly $10 billion.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian called for the release of the DAB funds at a meeting with his Afghan counterpart in Tehran. Speaking to Amir Khan Muttaqi and the delegation accompanying him, the Iranian foreign minister said the neighbours enjoyed cordial and cooperative relations.
IRNA quoted him as saying the brave Afghan nation’s struggle had proven that no foreign power could occupy or rule Afghanistan. He also welcomed Taliban leaders’ positive comments on the need for creating an inclusive government in Afghanistan.
Abdollahian promised Iran’s continued humanitarian assistance to the Afghans. He said Afghanistan badly needed global aid to overcome its current humanitarian crisis. Lashing out at what he called flawed policies of the US and its allies over the past two decades in Afghanistan, he claimed their actions had stirred disputes between the Afghans and their neighbours.
About the Iranian diplomats killed in Mazar-i-Sharif, he urged Afghanistan’s new rulers to fulfill their responsibility to safeguard diplomatic centers in their country. The visiting delegation presented a report on the campaign against ISIS and Taliban’s crackdown on the production and smuggling of illicit drugs. For his part, Muttaqi commended Iran’s hospitality towards Afghan refugees over the past 43 years and referred to commonalties between the two nations.