Iran offers proposal to solve Afghanistan crisis

TEHRAN - Iran on Wednesday presented a proposal aimed at "alleviating the people's suffering" in Afghanistan and preventing the rise of "threats" from the country.

"There is no doubt that it is not in the interest of any of its neighbors that Afghanistan re-enters a new cycle of civil war," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said at a conference in Tehran with Afghanistan's neighboring countries, according to an official release.

Given the conditions of Afghan society, a stable development of Afghanistan requires the establishment of an all-embracing government that allows "effective participation" of all "ethnic and religious" groups, based on dialogues and without foreign interferences, Amir Abdollahian said as the first point of Iran's proposal.

Neighboring countries should use all their influence on Taliban leaders and other Afghan parties to encourage and facilitate the establishment of such a government, he added.

Secondly, the foreign minister pointed to "undeniable duties" of the Taliban as "the ruling incumbent" in the country with such responsibilities as ensuring security, fighting terrorism, respecting the rights of "different groups including women," and providing basic needs for the population.

It is also necessary that the Taliban adopts a "friendly approach" towards their neighbors and give assurances that no threat will be posed to its neighbors from Afghan soil, Amir Abdollahian suggested in a third point.

The Afghan people, the Iranian senior diplomat said in his fourth point, have an urgent need for fairly-distributed humanitarian aid.

It requires a solid mechanism, and Iran suggests that aid should be distributed through the Economic Cooperation Organization's program for Afghanistan, he added.

The fifth point proposed was the creation of an intelligence-security cooperation mechanism to fight against possible organized crime and terrorism in Afghanistan.

Amir Abdollahian also voiced Iran's proposition to request the UN secretary general's mediation between Afghan groups over the future political structure of Afghanistan, in case of necessity.

The gathering in Tehran followed a virtual meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan's neighbors that was held on Sept 8, under the chairmanship of Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Amir Abdollahian expressed his hope that Wednesday's session would act as a platform to discuss practical ways for the Afghan neighbors to work together to tackle common concerns over the crisis.

Afghanistan has entered a new phase of a decades-long crisis since US troops hastily abandoned the country, putting an end to almost 20 years of military occupation as the Taliban militias took power.