The Taliban’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi heading an Islamic Emirate delegation yesterday held talks in Tehran with Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the Resistance Front, and Ismail Khan, the former governor of Herat province.
TOLOnews reports that Muttaqi said in a video posted by Mohammad Naeem, a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate’s Qatar-based office, “Yes, we met with Ahmad Massoud, Commander Ismail Khan and other Afghans. We assured all of them that they can come back and live an unworried life.”
"It's home to all, and we do not create insecurity or other problems for anyone. Everyone can come freely and live."
Although the Resistance Front has not officially confirmed the meeting, Hafiz Mansoor, a member of the Resistance Front, has said the meeting was held.
Iranian media, quoting the spokesman of Iran’s foreign ministry, Saeed Khatibzada, reported that Tehran hosted the meeting, adding that the Afghan parties had good discussions.
Meanwhile, sources told TOLOnews that Abdul Qayyum Sulaimani, a nephew of Ismail Khan who was deputy ambassador to Iran, has been appointed acting ambassador to Iran by Amir Khan Muttaqi.
Sunday's meeting in Tehran is reportedly one of the first signs of rapprochement between the Taliban and their opponents. Several prominent leaders of previous U.S.-backed Afghan governments, including former President Hamid Karzai and the ex-head of the National Reconciliation Council, Abdullah Abdullah, remained in Kabul following the Taliban takeover.
The alliance, known as the National Resistance Front, is led by Ahmed Massoud, the son of the anti-Taliban fighter Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was assassinated in 2001. The group coalesced after the Taliban swept into Kabul in mid-August as the Afghan government fled and Afghan forces offered little or no resistance to the Taliban takeover. Ahmed Massoud was joined by former governor of western Herat province, Ismail Khan.
Meanwhile, IRNA says an n Afghan delegation headed by acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan's Taliban Amir Khan Muttaqi traveled to Iran on Saturday and held talks with senior Iranian officials including Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.
