TEHRAN Hectic activities are going on in the region and at international level to decide about the future of Afghanistan in order to put an end to the perplexing labyrinth of this South Asian country. The United States is seemingly playing a key role in these activities with some of the regional countries, including some neighboring countries of Afghanistan, playing the secondary role.
The triangle of Taleban-U.S.-Zahir Shah is said to be the epicenter of new activities. At least since the emergence of the Talesman on the Afghan political horizon, the United States has been undoubtedly playing a pivotal role in Afghanistan. However, the U.S. policies have had their ups and downs in the course of the past few years.
In fact, the U.S. is the mentor and creator of the Talesman and some analysts call the militia the U.S. brainchild. Pakistan's military role in propping up the militia to the center-stage of Afghanistan politics is undeniable.
Basically, in the U.S. regional calculations, the Talesman were supposed to play the role of a transitional group who would pave the way for a U.S. favorite group to come to power. For various reasons, including the issue of human rights and the Taleban's connection with the Saudi dissident billionaire Osama bin Ladin, the United States refrained from recognizing the Talesman in the initial stages of the group's victory.
Despite all these facts the U.S. assisted the Talesman to power and played a role in their protection though it tried to rein in them by not recognizing them.
Attempts to reconcile the Talesman with Zahir Shah were part of U.S. activities to make the Talesman understand that they were supposed to play a transitional role, but once in power the Madressa students decline to step down or take the back seat.
However, it seems that there are some changes in the U.S. policies toward the Talesman today. The United States has seemingly succeeded to forge a sort of understanding between the Talesman and Zahir Shah in their arrangement to share power.
The role of the Northern Alliance is not known as yet, but what is clear is that some of the regional countries, for instance Turkey, are preparing themselves to recognize the future arrangement, which may even include the Northern Alliance. Now what is important is Iran's role in these developments. Undeniably, Iran has played and will play a crucial role in the region, particularly in the future of Afghanistan. What our nation is interested to know is a clear stance by our foreign ministry in this regard.
We know that Iran cannot be ignored with regard to the future of Afghanistan. We have hosted the greatest number of Afghan refugees, particularly at a time when we were involved in a devastative war with the Iraqi regime, and have paid dearly for our defense of the genuine rights of the Afghan nation. Our national interests dictate us to play our crucial role in the future of Afghanistan with full precaution.
What is not clear to us is our official policy toward Afghanistan.
When the Talesman came to power, the first impact of the fall of Mazar-i-Sharif on Iran was the assassination of 11 Iranian diplomats and a journalist.
The culprits have not been taken to book yet. We have not recognized the Talesman, for we have been saying that they do not represent the entire Afghan nation and we have had certain demands in this regard.
Have we given up those demands today? Are we going to recognize the forthcoming arrangement? If the answer to these questions are in the affirmative, another question that comes to the fore is: What are the reasons for the change in our policy towards Afghanistan? Are they based on our national interests, or they are influenced by some other decisions somewhere else? These are the questions we would like our respected experts at the Foreign Ministry answer to clear any ambiguity in this regard.