Afghans Urged to Seize Opportunity to Form Inclusive Government

A senior Iranian diplomat called on Afghan groups to seize the opportunity provided by the pullout of the foreign troops to form an inclusive government with amicable relations with neighbors.
Speaking at a presser on Monday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Iran is monitoring the ongoing developments in Afghanistan and is in contact with various Afghan groups, ISNA reported. 
He said all groups in Afghanistan need to help maintain stability, adding, “We hope that the [Afghan] groups would exploit in the best way the opportunity provided by the withdrawal of the extra-regional forces to form an inclusive government with good relations with the neighbors.”
The spokesperson noted that the history of Afghanistan shows that there is no military solution to the problems in the South Asian country, assuring that Iran is prepared to facilitate peace negotiations in the neighboring state.
Highlighting Tehran’s support for Afghanistan over the past decades and its efforts for protecting Afghan lives, Khatibzadeh said Tehran hopes that a coordination council would be formed in Afghanistan to ensure peace in the country.
Asked about the US measures in Afghanistan, the diplomat said the US invaded Afghanistan as an aggressor, brought about disaster, and ultimately pulled out scandalously. “This is a historical lesson for everybody that wherever the US has gone, it has brought about destruction instead of peace and security.”
He added that the new conditions in Afghanistan have created a new wave of refugees, stressing the need for continued humanitarian assistance to relieve the pains of Afghan people.
The Taliban have taken over Afghanistan following the United States’ abrupt and disorderly military withdrawal that put an end to a futile two-decade war.
The ill-prepared pullout plunged Afghanistan into chaos, with thousands of people still at Kabul’s international airport racing to flee the country.