Iran lambasting Taliban for marginalizing minorities

Islam Mohamed

New tensions are arising between the Taliban movement and the Iranian regime after the formation of the government in Kabul, without giving a ministerial quota to different ethnic groups in the country.

Tehran has expressed concern over the new government formation, saying it does not represent all Afghans.

It called on all parties to negotiate to form a government that is inclusive and diverse.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said the interim Afghan government is certainly not the comprehensive government that the international community and the Islamic Republic of Iran were waiting for.

He added at a press briefing on Monday that Iran would wait to see how the Taliban would respond to international demands.

Almost all the ministers in the new Taliban government are Pashtuns. Some of the ministers were prominent Taliban figures during the movement’s rule of Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001.

Iran called earlier for all groups and political forces in Afghanistan to refrain from using force and engage in negotiations and dialogue.

Khatibzadeh said his country maintains permanent channels of communication with all political parties in this neighboring country.

Criticism

The Iranian position led to sharp criticism to Tehran, whose government is not based on ethnic diversity.

Iran also persecutes non-Persian members of the population and refuses to include them in power.

Relations between Iran and the Taliban were tense during the previous period, especially during the movement’s rule of Afghanistan.

Tehran did not recognize it at the time. The two countries were on the brink of war in 1998.

Recently, however, Iran, which shares a border with Afghanistan of more than 900 kilometers, has refrained from criticizing the hard-line Sunni movement that took power in and seized Kabul on August 15.

Nonetheless, on September 6, Tehran condemned the Taliban’s attack on the Panjshir Valley which contained the last stronghold of resistance to it.