Iran for UN role to end foreign meddling in Afghanistan

The News: Jang, 8 Jan)

ISLAMABAD: Iran Wednesday expressed its readiness to launch coordinated efforts with Pakistan for restoration of peace in strife-torn Afghanistan. "We are willing to coordinate our efforts with Pakistan to help Afghan factions overcome their differences," state-run Tehran Radio quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi as saying during meeting with Pakistan's special envoy for Afghanistan Iftikhar Murshad.

Underlining the need for seeking a negotiated settlement of the Afghan imbroglio, Kharazi also called for effective role of the United Nations in ending foreign interference in internal affairs of Afghanistan. However, he did not specify the countries he believed are meddling in Afghan affairs. Pakistan and Iran had jointly moved a resolution on Afghanistan at the last month's OIC summit meeting in Tehran calling upon all states to immediately end the supply of arms to warring Afghan factions. The resolution also called for a political dialogue between Afghan groups to seek peaceful solution. "Iran supports all efforts aimed at restoring peace in Afghanistan and will itself spare no endeavor to achieve this objective," Kharazi said.

Pakistan's Special Envoy emphasized the need for coordination between Islamabad and Tehran for seeking peace in neighboring Afghanistan. Iftikhar Murshad, earlier met with his Iranian counterpart Aleuddin Brojourdi and said intra-Afghan dialogue is the only way for the rival Afghan factions to seek settlement to their differences. He briefed Broujourdi on recent meetings of Pakistani officials with Taliban leaders in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmed, accompanied by Murshad and Pakistan's Ambassador to Kabul Aziz Khan, last month visited Taliban chief Mulla Muhammad Omar in Kandahar and discussed ways to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

Murshad told Iranian official that Pakistan would continue its efforts to persuade various Afghan factions to sit across the table and find a negotiated settlement of their differences. He said Iran, being Chairman of OIC has an important role to play for the restoration of peace in Afghanistan.

According to Tehran Radio, Brojourdi said Tehran would do its best to get the OIC resolutions on Afghanistan implemented. He appreciated,"inclination of Afghan groups for talks but expressed concern over rejection of temporary ceasefire offer of opposition alliance by the Taliban administration during Ramazan."

Taliban turned down last week's truce offer of Rabbani saying that the move was aimed to buy time for opposition forces to reassemble and launch fresh attacks on Taliban forces. Referring to the acute food shortage in central Afghan provinces of Bamiyan and Hazarajat, Brojourdi called for unhindred supply of badly needed humanitarian assistance to these areas.