Taliban declined to attend this week’s regional meeting on Afghanistan in Tehran after telling Iranian officials they would not participate as a party accused of supporting terrorism, a source familiar with the matter told Amu TV.
The Taliban delegation also said Pakistan should not be given an opportunity at the meeting to accuse the group of backing “terrorism,” the source said.
The source added that the request was not accepted and that the Taliban ultimately decided not to attend because the meeting agenda did not include discussions on trade or engagement with Afghanistan.
According to the source, the Taliban also asked Iranian hosts to avoid describing the situation in Afghanistan as a “crisis” during the meeting.
The Tehran meeting was held on Sunday, Dec. 14, and was attended by special envoys on Afghanistan from Russia, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan and Iran.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the aim of the meeting was to exchange views on developments in Afghanistan and that tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban would also be discussed.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said at the opening of the meeting that establishing regular dialogue mechanisms among Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries was a “strategic necessity”.
Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq Khan, said in his remarks that Afghans deserved better conditions and warned that security threats emanating from Afghanistan remained a serious challenge for the region.
Taliban officials have not publicly commented on the source’s account of their decision not to attend the meeting.
