Iran Condemns Afghan Mosque Attack After US, China, Russia, Pakistan Talks

Iran has voiced its condemnation of a current grenade assault in opposition to Kabul’s largest mosque simply days after representatives of america, China, Russia and Pakistan met to debate the state of affairs in Afghanistan, a rustic beset by humanitarian disaster and militant threats.

The blast Wednesday injured as much as six individuals simply as worshippers concluded noon prayers on the Pul-e-Khishti Mosque, situated in a crowded neighborhood of the Afghan capital. No group or particular person has but claimed duty for the assault, however the Taliban-led Afghan Inside Ministry mentioned it detained a suspect on the scene and introduced him in for questioning.

The incident follows a sequence of lethal bombings late final 12 months claimed by the Islamic State militant group’s Khorasan department (ISIS-Okay) in opposition to mosques, a lot of which had been of Shiite Muslim denomination, drawing explicit outrage from neighboring Iran.

And whereas the Pul-e-Khishti Mosque is frequented largely by Sunni Muslims, Tehran’s embassy in Kabul nonetheless issued a press release that mentioned it “condemns the usage of terrorist strategies that threaten the safety of the Afghan individuals, together with at the moment’s terrorist incident on the Kabul Pul-e-Khishti Mosque, which seems to have injured quite a lot of fasting worshipers.”

Though Iran has traditionally opposed the Taliban, it has sought to make inroads with the group because it took over the nation final August amid a U.S. navy withdrawal from a two-decade struggle in Afghanistan.

On Tuesday, Iran’s embassy welcomed the Taliban’s announcement to limit narcotics gross sales throughout the opium-rich nation. It introduced that Tehran stood able to cooperate in agriculture simply days after Iran’s particular consultant to Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, mentioned the Taliban had agreed to share its nation’s water provide as a part of decades-old treaty, one which has usually been a supply of competition between the 2 nations.

Qomi made the remarks after attending a gathering in China held amongst regional international locations, which included officers from Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The convention was one in all a number of worldwide gatherings to deal with ongoing woes in Afghanistan, the newest assembly of which was held within the “prolonged troika” format amongst China, Russia, Pakistan and the U.S.

The assembly was notable because it marked a uncommon discussion board of interplay between the U.S. and its high foes China and Russia, particularly within the wake of the latter’s invasion of Ukraine launched February 24 amid mounting tensions between Moscow and Washington.

The struggle, now approaching its seventh week, and the humanitarian disaster it has created in Europe has consumed worldwide consideration, whereas Afghanistan continues to endure from its personal sequence of overlapping crises together with financial collapse and lack of fundamental providers for the reason that Taliban takeover.

Including to Afghanistan’s monetary misery, the U.S. has seized as much as $7.1 billion in frozen Afghan funds, of which it has introduced plans to allocate at the very least half to victims of the 9/11 assaults that served as a pretext for the U.S. struggle within the nation in 2001.

Although the Al-Qaeda militant group was working in Afghanistan on the time of the assault not one of the perpetrators themselves had been Afghans, and the U.S. plan has prompted mass protests from all sectors of Afghan society, together with these against the Taliban’s restrictive rule.

State Division spokesperson Ned Value confirmed final week that U.S. particular consultant for Afghanistan Tom West attended the “prolonged troika” assembly within the Chinese language metropolis of Tunxi. He mentioned the pursuits of all 4 international locations concerned “are aligned” relating to Afghanistan, and this “contains relating to the crucial of seeing women return to secondary colleges and inspiring inclusive governance.”

The Taliban had vowed to respect the precise of girls to obtain an schooling, one thing the ultraconservative group restricted when the Islamic Emirate first dominated the nation from 1996 till the U.S.-led intervention 5 years later. However as colleges opened late final month, feminine college students searching for second schooling mentioned they had been turned away, sparking outcry inside the nation and overseas.

Value mentioned the U.S. was searching for help from different international locations to make sure that the Taliban sticks to its dedication on the schooling of girls.

“We wish to see to it that these are messages the Taliban acquired not solely from us, not solely from our European companions, with whom we’re coordinating carefully on Afghanistan and engagement with the Taliban, but in addition from a broader assortment of nations, and definitely these international locations that do have a great deal of leverage,” he mentioned.

The day after the assembly, the Chinese language International Ministry launched a readout saying that “the 4 sides agreed {that a} peaceable and steady Afghanistan is within the frequent pursuits of the worldwide neighborhood. Afghanistan shouldn’t turn out to be a spot for geopolitical rivalry, however a platform for worldwide cooperation.” The assertion “reiterated their agency help for the Afghan individuals and careworn that extra humanitarian help will likely be supplied to Afghanistan.”

Additionally on the core of the assembly had been issues of lingering instability prompted by assaults just like the one that may happen the next week on the Pul-e-Khishti Mosque.

“All events in Afghanistan are known as on to comprehend nationwide reconciliation by means of substantive dialogue and negotiation, and work for a broader, extra inclusive and united political structure in Afghanistan sooner or later,” the Chinese language International Ministry mentioned on the time. “The 4 sides careworn that numerous terrorist forces entrenched in Afghanistan stay a menace to the safety of the area, and known as on related Afghan events to take extra seen measures to satisfy their counter-terrorism dedication and dismantle and get rid of all forms of terrorist teams.”

Additionally current on the assembly was a consultant of the Taliban, performing Performing Minister of Mines and Petroleum Sheikh Shahabuddin Delawar. International Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi mentioned the collaborating nations had “pledged that every one their efforts are for the soundness of Afghanistan and the area and that the isolation of Afghanistan is just not within the curiosity of anybody.”

Delawar was additionally mentioned to have known as on the opposite representatives to help Afghanistan slightly than add any further strain, as “worldwide cooperation will allow Afghanistan to play an essential position in regional prosperity as a self-sufficient and aggressive nation.”

And he was mentioned to have repeated the promise that “Afghanistan’s soil wouldn’t be used to the detriment of any nation and wouldn’t permit anybody from its soil to hurt the soundness of the area and the world,” the core tenet of the peace deal signed by the Taliban and the U.S. underneath then-President Donald Trump in February 2020.

Whereas U.S. troops have lengthy left Afghanistan, Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin mentioned Friday that the Pentagon’s Central Command mission nonetheless “contains our over-the-horizon efforts in Afghanistan, with the assistance of our companions.”