Former vice president Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum has said that the Taliban are “taking their last breaths” and only understand force, as criticism intensified over the killing of a former police chief in Iran.
Speaking during an online memorial gathering for Gen. Ikramuddin Saree on Sunday, Dostum said the Taliban do not understand diplomacy or dialogue and respond only to pressure, describing the group as a “terrorist regime” whose rule he said would not endure.
“The Taliban do not understand diplomacy or common language. They only understand pressure and force,” Dostum said.
“The terrorist Taliban’s regime will not last more. They are taking their last breaths. A big success will be there for the people of Afghanistan… The Taliban’s rule is on the verge of its end,” he said.
Saree, who served as police chief in several northern provinces including Takhar under Afghanistan’s previous government, was shot dead last week in Tehran along with Mohammad Amin Almas, another former member of the security forces. Iranian authorities have not publicly released details of the attack or identified those responsible.
The killings have prompted strong reactions from political figures and armed groups opposed to the Taliban, many of whom accuse the group of pursuing former security officials beyond Afghanistan’s borders.
Yasin Zia, leader of the Afghanistan Freedom Front, said those responsible for the killings would eventually be held accountable, while Ahmad Massoud, head of the National Resistance Front, urged Iran to carry out a serious and transparent investigation.
“This is not the first time prominent former Afghan officials have been killed in Iran,” Massoud said. “The expectation of the Afghan people is that Iranian authorities take this case seriously.”
The UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, also called for an independent investigation, saying those responsible should be identified and brought to justice.
In a separate statement, the Coordination Council of Afghanistan’s former diplomatic and consular missions said the killings showed that former Afghan security personnel remained at risk even in exile, despite repeated Taliban claims of a general amnesty.
Saree moved to Iran after the Taliban seized power in August 2021 and was reportedly assisting former security members with documentation and residency matters.
Iranian security agencies have not commented publicly on the case. Taliban officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Since returning to power, the Taliban have said they granted amnesty to former government officials and security personnel, but rights groups and United Nations officials have documented cases of killings, disappearances and detentions of former members of the security forces.
