Hekmatyar asks Iran to correct its statements on Afghanistan

KABUL (Pajhwok): Hizb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) supreme leader GulbuddinHekmatyar has condemned Iran's recent statements about non-recognition of the Afghan government and asked the country to correct its statements.

"Iran should correct its statements"

HIA leader,GulbuddinHekmatyar said in a Friday prayer sermon, quoting the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s West Asia Department Director RasoulMousavi, that "If we stop the Taliban by ISIS, it is in our interest in terms of security."

Hekmatyar said a video footage of the Iranian official's speech had been widely circulated in social media, raising concerns among Afghans.

He said that Mousavi in the video stated, "Special conditions have been created in Afghanistan, a group called the Taliban has come to power, it is definitely to the detriment of our national security and national interests. But what should be done? Is fighting the Taliban possible and beneficial? Is it possible for the Islamic Republic to oust the Taliban? I must say clearly that this cannot be done, it is not possible for Iran. We have no choice but to adopt a special policy about them. Now, without ISIS, there is virtually no armed force in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban.”

"There are snakes and scorpions in the hell, the infernal would get refuge from snakes and scorpions and, we are faced in a similar situation about Afghanistan…if we control the Taliban by ISIS, it will be in our interest in terms of security. Although we have no interest in recognizing the Taliban, we have no choice but to manage our policy of non-recognition properly. We had a meeting with representatives of neighboring countries in Tehran. There was a meeting in Moscow last week; the Russians went a little further on recognition of Taliban. I later posted a tweet but Russians seemed unsatisfactory about it… The Russians who took this forward, we held it one step back.Russians, Chinese and the Pakistanis wanted to move forward about the recognition. We tried to hold regional countries back. You can’t find a single word in the joint statement about the recognition of the Taliban’s government,” Mousavi was quoted as saying in the video clip.

In response to Mousavi's remarks, Hekmatyar said that Afghans want all neighbors, particularly Iran, to have a positive and constructive policy towards Afghanistan.

"No country that is committed to its values ​​should compare Afghans to snakes, scorpions and hell and consider the opposition of one group to the support of another to be in the interest of their country's national security. Why should Iran create hurdles for recognition of the current caretaker government against the wishes of the Afghan people, when, according to Mousavi, China, Russia, Pakistan and a number of other countries have shown interest in the Moscow summit about the recognition?” he said.

Hekmatyar called on Iran to correct its statements and reassure Afghans that it wants stability and security in Afghanistan and will never support a militant group against the government.

mds