Afghanistan Times
Related Articles
AT News
KABUL: Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif stressed that Iran has always supported intra-Afghan dialogue, owned and led by Afghans themselves.
He made the remarks in an address to the virtual 2020 Afghanistan Conference in Geneva on Tuesday.
It is a tragedy of epic proportions that twenty years after the conference in Bonn, we are still talking about war in Afghanistan, he said. “For over 40 years, Afghans have endured bloodshed, perpetrated primarily from the outside.”
“The military approach to building peace has failed, and the presence of foreign troops has been a lingering problem. A responsible exit of foreign troops from Afghanistan—with a smooth and effective assumption of their duties by the Afghan security forces—will be a positive step toward a sustainable peace.”
“Iran has always supported intra-Afghan dialogue, owned and led by Afghans themselves, which should include the Taliban, and which preserves the post-2001 achievements: the democratic Constitution, the right of the people to self-determination through elections, the rights of religious and ethnic minorities, the rights of women; and combatting terrorism. The UN should be central in facilitating intra-Afghan dialogue, and Iran stands ready to cooperate,” he added.
We all know that poverty and unemployment are fertile grounds for extremism, terrorism, and drug trafficking. Peace will not be sustainable if Afghans have to struggle to simply survive, he added.
The world must put the people of Afghanistan before other considerations, he demanded.
