Yesterday early in the morning, the Taliban’s spokesman, Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, acknowledged in a newsletter sent to the media, that their political representatives have repeatedly visited Iran on the invitation of Iranian Government and have held official negotiations with this country concerning various regional issues.
Some political analysts called the abrupt announcement of this declaration as a diplomatic coup d'état against the Kabul Government which have made the foreign ministry of the Karzai Government very lax. While the internal and regional media are warmly commenting this diplomatic progress of Taliban, the Karzai regime is unable to identify her stance and proclaim it.
The Taliban’s visit to Iran by her invitation, their formal negotiations and then publicizing these diplomatic relations are considered a significant achievement for Taliban from political point of view because the nature of this visit and the language of the Taliban’s declaration prove that Taliban have not visited Iran as an insignificant party or group, rather they have been invited by the Iranian side as an independent political system and crucial issues have been brought under discussion.
In the following lines, we would like to furnish the comments of some media groups and analysts with the hope that you will go through them.
BBC has published a detailed analysis in its Persian website about the Taliban’s visit and has deeply analyzed the Taliban’s declaration regarding this visit.
BBC has called the Taliban’s declaration not an ordinary one but a thought provocative one because the Taliban’s declaration manifests that it was not the visit of the members of some party, rather it was the visit an official delegation of a formal system/state because according to the BBC, the Taliban has interpreted their movement as ‘The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’ and has said that they have discussed ‘issues of bilateral interest’ with Iran. BBC says that generally these kinds of terminologies are used for negotiations between the representatives of two independent formal states and political systems and not for the negotiations of certain party.
BBC says that the declaration of Taliban also mentions that they have discussed the issues of their refugees countrymen with Iran. As the Taliban are negotiating the fate of Afghan citizens with certain country, it shows that the Taliban have participated in the negotiations in a stronger position as it is generally considered.
The Kabul based newspaper ‘Hasht-i-Subh’ has written in its Tuesday article that the diplomatic relations of Taliban with Iran and their visit is the explicit failure of the Kabul regime. The newspaper says that the Iranian government has debased the Karzai’s regime. The newspaper has objected that the government has not taken any official stand regarding this important development and has adopted complete silence. The article of ‘Hasht-i-Subh’ says that the Taliban are in the process of their political progress and the efforts of Karzai government are a complete failure. She says that the Karzai government has not only fallen short in holding back the political activities of Taliban in Qatar and at present their activities are spreading out to other countries. ‘Hasht-i-Subh’ says that the Taliban’s presence in Qatar is not only a political address, rather it is acting just like an independent embassy.
The heading of another article of ‘Hasht-i-Subh’ is that ‘Iran has officially recognized the Taliban’. The writer of this article says the declaration of Taliban regarding their visit to Iran has mostly stunned the analysts and observers. He says the formal and explicit meaning of this visit is that Iran is no more giving importance to the worn-out Kabul government and recognizes the resistance group i.e. Taliban instead.
Another newspaper of Kabul ‘Milli Arman’ has allocated her article to this very subject. ‘Milli Arman’ says that Iran is feeling danger of the presence of America in the region just like other countries therefore she has revived her relations with Taliban.
The editor in chief of another Kabul based weekly ‘Sharia’ and a prominent Afghan analyst ‘Abdul Rahim Saqib’ has also written an article regarding the Taliban’s visit to Iran which has been published by the official site of Taliban and some other websites. Mr. Saqib says in his analysis that the visit of Taliban to Iran in this decisive period of time is another diplomatic achievement against the Americans and other alien forces. They can satisfy other countries that Taliban are ready to establish this kind of diplomatic relations with all including their neighbouring countries.
Mr. Saqib adds that the neighbouring countries are also deeply involved besides the international forces in the current quandary of Afghanistan therefore it is the responsibility of the ruling power of Afghanistan to have positive understanding with all neighbouring countries for the sake of peace and stability of their own country.
Taliban, who are fighting against the foreign forces on the spirit of defending their homeland and have compelled the Americans and all other alien forces to evacuate from Afghanistan, are also vigilant and feeling the responsibility of providing peace and stability for their people after the withdrawal of foreigners.
Due to this consciousness, Taliban have launched these efforts from this office in Qatar to hold formal meetings with the international sides as well as with the neighbouring countries, so that they could reach a solution with could stop the continuation of war inside the country.
Analyst of political affairs and an expert of the Iranian affairs ‘Razzaq Mamoon’ has also written an article in this connection. Its heading is ‘Tehran negotiations complete the circle of Taliban’s foreign policy. Razzaq Mamoon says that Taliban have started formal diplomatic relations with Iran after several years of ceremonial and semi-formal relations which is a vital success for Taliban.
Razzaq Mamoon writes that Taliban have managed to come out of the isolation of the preliminary years and have recorded a wonderful and unprecedented resilience in the history of the region. From political point of view they are very stable and on the way of progress. The ruling group has lost the opportunities. They have lost their mission in the game of propaganda and are facing problems in dealing with Americans. Sometimes, they cross the limits and reach a perilous border in the disgrace and breach of law and irritating the opposition; as a result they have rapidly lost their credibility.
Razzaq Mamoon resembles the Taliban’s visit to Iran with Mujahidin visit to Moscow in 1990 under the leadership of Burhanuddin Rabbani and says that the then face to face dialogue of Mujahidin with Boris Yaltsin ousted Najeeb’s regime.
Another analyst of the Afghan Affairs, Waheed Muzda’ has published an article in website of ‘Bast-Bastan’ news agency and has discussed the visit of Taliban’s delegation to Iran. He says that the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan are also anxious about the situation in Afghanistan as the year 2014 is drawing near.
Muzda says that Iran considers Taliban and an independent and vital political power and is tightening relations with them. He says that political relations with Iran are considered a significant achievement for Taliban and they are in a position to say that they have broken the political deadlock and can independently discuss the issue of Afghanistan with the world countries.
Another important point regarding the formal visit of Taliban to Iran is that the American and Kabul officials have not announced any stance yet. It seems that they are stunned and perplexed. Similarly, till the composition of these lines, the American Strategic Studies Centers have not said anything in their websites regarding this vital political progress but independent observers have evaluated this visit a successful one and they have praised the political perception of Taliban.