MONITORING (SW) – Iran has hosted a meeting between the Taliban and a number of Afghan politicians in the capital Tehran amid ensuing violence in Afghanistan.
The high-level peace talks between the warring sides follow months-old discussions in Qatar that have been stalled by a diplomatic stalemate and escalating violence. Even as officials faced each other across vast tables in Tehran and Iran’s top diplomat pledged to end the crisis, fighting surged in Afghanistan’s western Badghis province, reported the AP.
The Taliban political committee, led by chief negotiator Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, flew from Doha to Iran’s capital to meet Afghan government officials, including former Vice President Younus Qanooni and others from the High Council for National Reconciliation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif greeted the delegates, urging them to “take difficult decisions today for the future of their country,” state-run media reported.
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After the “failure of the U.S. in Afghanistan,” Zarif said, Iran stands “ready to assist the dialogue” and to “resolve the current conflicts in the country.”
“Returning to the inter-Afghan negotiation table and committing to political solutions is the best choice,” he added.
But any solution appeared a long way off Wednesday as the Taliban offensive, which has recently captured many districts in the country’s north, pushed into the western Badghis province. The insurgents attacked the provincial capital of Qala-e-Naw from several sides, its governor Hasamuddin Shams said, adding that Afghan troops had so far managed to push the Taliban fighters back.
From the early hours of Wednesday morning, battles have raged near the provincial police headquarters and a Qala-e-Naw army base, said Abdul Aziz beg, head of the provincial council in Badghis.
Videos widely circulated on social media appeared to show Taliban fighters speeding into the provincial capital on motorcycles. Other clips show insurgents approaching the city’s prison and releasing inmates. The Associated Press could not independently verify the authenticity of the footage.
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