The Taliban mediators are holding talks with the Iranian officials in an effort to remove misunderstandings between the two sides. ILLUSTRATION: JAMAL KHURSHID/FILE
Three Afghan Taliban interlocutors have embarked on a fence-mending mission to Iran, the militia confirmed to The Express Tribune late Saturday through two of its officials.
The Taliban mediators -- believed to be drawn from the group’s negotiating team in Qatar -- are holding talks with the Iranian officials in an effort to remove misunderstandings between the two sides, the Taliban officials said on condition of anonymity.
“The Taliban will explain their policies and will allay the fears of Iran as it always had concerns about Taliban being Sunnis,” one of the Taliban officials said.
Syed Tayyeb Agha, Maulvi Shahabuddin Dilawar and Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanakzai are all part of the delegation.
Taliban officials said that Tehran had invited the Taliban leaders for talks for future cooperation.
They started the visit on Friday after approval by the top leadership. This is the first high level and formal interaction between the two sides, the Taliban officials said.
It is believed that Iran extended an invitation to the Taliban to have its role in any future process ahead of the 2014 endgame.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 2nd, 2013.
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The concerns are not ridiculously about the Taliban being 'Sunnis'. The Af-Pak Taliban are extremists made up of Deoband ideologues who frequently hook up with other Wahhabi/Salafi/Sunni Islamist militants, who all have an intolerant anti-Shia/anti-Iran hateful bent.
These same criminal militants, with the Haqqani network, TTP and Quetta Shura, laid siege of Parachinar and made a blood bath out of Quetta. Their activities include everything from propagating sectarian hatred to whole scale massacres of Af-Pak innocents and soldiers, including the Shia genocide, besides providing safe haven to terrorists Al Qaeda, or logistics to Baloch based Jundullah, to sharing members with Punjab based Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, etc. This insane violence is not what normal moderate Sunnis are involved with and instead condemn.
I dunno if its a Pak establishment initiative or their own, but there can only be improvement if they abandon their hostilities, otherwise it should be a no go.
This is from press tv. please call yourself Express Karachi :)
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Araqchi has dismissed reports about a Taliban political delegation visiting Iran from their office in Qatar.
“I do not confirm the Taliban delegation’s trip,” Araqchi said on Sunday.
An Iranian news agency had reported on Saturday that members of the Taliban’s political mission in Qatar, headed by Syed Tayyab Agha, have held talks with Iranian security officials in Tehran.
Taliban militants have recently opened a mission in the Persian Gulf state to provide a venue for peace negotiations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and find a peaceful end to the 12-year war in Afghanistan.
The United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 under the pretext of fighting terrorism.
The invasion removed the Taliban from power, but the country remains insecure despite the presence of tens of thousands of US-led forces there.
SF/HGH/SS
I wonder how these Taliban travel. Surely not through an airport in Afghanistan? If they've travelled from Pakistan then shame on the government for not arresting these terrorists.
This is very good news, As AQIM and their offspring in the middle east would never dream of doing such a thing. Taliban showing maturity.
As , a Muslim state, Iran can always play a positive role in mediating with Talibans.It can prove to be a good instrument,for Pakistan, as Pakistan shares it's border with these 2 states.Keepin this fact in our minds, that Iran was the first country to recognize Pakistan , as a soveriegn state,This time such negotiation can proved to be a fruitful for Pakistan, with respect to cross border insurgencies, as a consequences of Afghan Initiatives, of extremism in pakistan's tribal belt.
This is an excellent development as Iran has often voiced their apprehensions on the motives of the Taliban. If the Taliban wants to be considered a serious contender for power post 2014 they will have to do a lot to convince players like China, Russia, USA, Iran, India and others that they are Afghan nationalists and not stooges or proxy of ISI. Without reaching out to all Afghanistan will continue to be in a state of civil war.
Looks like Taliban are doing better homework for post US Afghanistan. While Aghan govt is happy to keep Pak-Afghan border alight, while it lasts. I am sure many of them have foreign visas stamps already on their passports.
interesting development ! will talban now stop killing "their sect" in afghanistan and pakistan ?