Iran’s former ambassador to Afghanistan stated that the Taliban war is not about Islam or the Qur'an, but it’s about gaining power; “Americans experienced a proxy war in Central Asia and they intend to continue it in Afghanistan after ...
Iran’s former ambassador to Afghanistan stated that the Taliban war is not about Islam or the Qur'an, but it’s about gaining power; “Americans experienced a proxy war in Central Asia and they intend to continue it in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of their troops.”
Radio Goftgoo's "Political Dialogue" had a phone call interview with Dr. Abolfazl Zohrehvand, Iran's former ambassador to Afghanistan and the political expert, where he explained about recent changes in Afghanistan, people’s displacement and its impact on Iran's national security.
* Afghanistan has always been a victim of the greed of outside powers
Abolfazl Zohrehvand explained that Afghanistan has always been a victim of external powers’ greed; “At some point in the history Afghanistan belonged to Iran and then to India, but in the last 300 years it has lived independently on the world map, and whole this time it has been a point of balance between the superpowers.”
He pointed to the efforts of the invasive countries to occupy Afghanistan; “Neither the Russians nor the British, nor the Americans were victorious in Afghanistan. The Russians, for example, were severely defeated by the country, after which we witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union.”
* Power has always been in the hands of the Pashtuns
In this interview with Radio Goftogoo, the former Iranian ambassador pointed out the multiplicity of ethnicities in Afghanistan; “The president or the king in this country has always been Pashtun, and today this ethnic group make up 35 to 40 percent of the country’s population. The remaining 65% of Afghanistan ethnicities are Tajik, Hazara and Uzbek. There are also other tribes among them but the population is rather low. When we look at Afghanistan in terms of population, we find that power has historically lied in the Pashtuns hands.”
*Intra-ethnic conflicts create tension in Afghanistan.
He attributed the tensions in Afghanistan to intra-ethnic conflicts between the country's different ethnicities, noting that these conflicts prevent the formation of a national identity in Afghanistan. This is while in political geography, identity is considered a significant factor for unity. Basically, this identity shapes the cohesion of citizens and creates common threats, opportunities and paths.
The Iranian political expert stressed that the Taliban war is not about Islam or the Qur'an, but it’s about gaining power; “Americans experienced a proxy war in Central Asia and they intend to continue it in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of their troops.”
* The US presence in Afghanistan will continue.
Zohrevand added; “The truth is that the Americans presence will continue in Afghanistan because they have only withdrawn their military forces but have kept their intelligence forces in this country.”
"Today, Afghanistan can’t be compared with its past; “There are wars and conflicts in 13 provinces of the country, eight of which have fallen," Zohrehvand told Radio Goftogoo, “If the occupation of 13 provinces is completed, the collapse of Kabul will be final, and this is while Afghanistan has 350,000 trained forces.”
* Afghanistan distrusts the United States
He went on to say that the United States destroyed Afghanistan's trust in American authorities; “The United States had deployed 110,000 troops in Afghanistan, and there are NATO forces as well. The Americans trained Afghan soldiers in a way that they would be dependent on the United States. Afghan forces, for example, were covered by US aircraft in every operation they conducted.”
* The formation of the Taliban originated from a British project
The former Iranian ambassador to Afghanistan referred to the history of the Taliban and added; “This group was formed in the early 1970s and after announcing its existence, they formed the Islamic Emirate. They intended to establish an Islamic caliphate as well."
He mentioned that formation of the Taliban was originally a British project; “The British have long been present in the region, while the situation was different for the United States, as the Americans settled in Afghanistan two decades ago. But the British had an empire in the region.”
* Internal and external factors prevent the creation of a national identity in Afghanistan.
The Iranian political expert emphasized that internal and external factors prevent the creation of a national identity in Afghanistan; “When the Americans came to Afghanistan, they said they intended to build a state and a nation. The international community also declared that through establishing international norms and forming the country, they seek to establish statehood and are after nation-building.”
By Zahra Judaki
