Iran must be included in Afghanistan peace process: Pakistan diplomat

Islamabad, Dec 28, IRNA - A senior Pakistani analyst strongly believes that Iran, the neighboring state of Afghanistan must take part in Afghan peace process. Former Pakistani Ambassador to Afghanistan, Rustam Shah Mohmand, made the remarks in an interview with IRNA. He said that Iran’s inclusion in any peace process on Afghanistan is very important as Iran has a large border with Afghanistan, friendly ties with Kabul and hosts the Afghan refugees. So Iran’s role in any peace process cannot be discarded. Expressing his views on recent discussions on Afghanistan by Russia, China, and Pakistan in Moscow, the analyst said any meeting, conference or deliberation on Afghanistan which does not include the country itself and its key neighbors like Iran, will not be fruitful. “The sovereignty of Afghanistan as an independent country must be recognized and it should be made part of deliberations in future,” he said. 'The main thing is how to deal with insurgency, how to deal with militancy, how to deal with violence, how to end the conflict in Afghanistan. This is the most important issue and for this, no one seems to have any applicable formula so far,” Rustam Shah Mohmand said. The former ambassador, however, said that new Afghan peace process without the US will not work because America is one of the major stakeholders in the country as it has over 10,000 troops in Afghanistan, it controls the most important bases in Afghanistan and it provides critical economic and military assistance to Afghanistan so it needs to be included. “Last time when Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) including the US, China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan started to deliberate on the issue. The US, on one hand, was trying to engage with Taliban at the same time it was conspiring to kill the Taliban leader so that process was fizzled out.” The expert on Afghan affairs said the principle demand of the militants in Afghanistan is the withdrawal of foreign forces and how these troops will be withdrawn. 1378/IRNA