Iran to continue assisting Afghanistan, says diplomat

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): Iran will continue to assist Afghanistan in areas economy and culture, officials of the Iranian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, said on Wednesday.

Sikandar Yan, Iran’s deputy consul general in Mazar-i-Sharif, made the remarks at a meeting on the occasion of Yalda night.

The Yalda Night celebration was organized by the Iranian Consulate and the Balkh Department of Information and Culture at the Ferdowsi Library in Mazar-e-Sharif with participation of many cultural figures.

At the beginning of the meeting, Maulvi Zabihullah Noorani, director of information and culture in Balkh, said the Afghans should take full advantage of the security situation to rebuild their country.

He added that this year the people of Balkh had gathered without any fear and organized this cultural program.

He added that despite a major change in the country, the government had been able to activate all its service agencies in a short period of time and provided services to people.

Maulvi Noorani added that the Islamic Emirate pays special attention to educational development of Afghan youth, which Afghans will witness in near future.

He called on the people of Afghanistan to maintain their national unity and devote their energies to the development of Afghanistan.

“This country belongs to all Afghans. My hope is that we will not divide ourselves into ethnic, regional and linguistic groups. This is our common home and we will rebuild it together,” Noorani said.

Sikandar Yan, Iran’s Deputy Consul General in Mazar-i-Sharif, described the Iranian and Afghan peoples as having common values ​​and stressed the need to strengthen ties between the two countries.

He said his country would continue to support Afghans in the cultural and economic spheres and added that the Iranian government had good intentions towards Afghanistan and would reach out to Afghans in need.

According to him, historically, the peoples of Iran and Afghanistan have stood shoulder to shoulder in difficult times and efforts will continue to be made to expand economic and cultural ties between the two countries.

However, some Afghan activists called on the Iranian side to treat Afghan refugees fairly.

Matin, a member Balkh Civil Society Group, addressed the gathering and called on the Iranian government to stop mistreating Afghan refugees.

ma