Kabul, Tehran want Intra-Afghan talks to continue

KABUL (Pajhwok): Kabul and Tehran agree that intra-Afghan negotiations are the best way to bring stability to the war-torn country. The agreement came during talks between Irani’s special envoy for Afghanistan Mohammad-Ebrahim Taherian High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) Chairman Abdullah Abdullah.

Afghan-Afghan negotiations should continue as they were the best way to establish stability in Afghanistan, the two sides concurred. Meanwhile, the objective behind the Taliban delegation’s vist to Tehran is to hold talks on the peace process in Afghanistan, Iran says.

Led by Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban team arrived in Tehran on Tuesday morning. The delegation was received by officials of the Foreign Ministry. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters in Tehran that the aim of the delegation’s visit was to hold discussions on the Afghan peace process.

He stressed the participation of all Afghan groups in peace negotiations –the only way to maintain sustainable peace in Afghanistan. He said the Taliban delegation would meet Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, Special Envoy for Afghanistan Mohammad Ibrahim Taherian and other officials.

Recently, Taherian met officials from Russia, Germany and Afghanistan, as well as UN Secretary-General’s special representative for Afghanistan. Khatibzadeh claimed Iran had invested a lot on peace and stability in Afghanistan and hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades. Afghanistan would see stability and its people would live together free from ethnic, factional and sectarian differences, he hoped.