Taliban's acting FM Muttaqi meets Afghanistan's National Resistance Front leader Ahmad Massoud
Jan 11, 2022
Tehran [Iran], January 11 : Taliban's acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Monday met Afghanistan's National Resistance Front (NRF) Ahmad Massoud and Ismail Khan, the former governor of Herat province in Tehran.
The Islamic Emirate delegation which is currently in Iran is led by Muttaqi. "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," he said in a video posted by Mohammad Naeem, a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate's Qatar-based office, reported Tolo News.
Meanwhile, the Resistance Front has yet to confirm the meeting between Muttaqi and Ahmad Massoud.
NRF has not officially confirmed the meeting, Hafiz Mansoor, a member of the Resistance Front, has said the meeting was held, reported Tolo News.
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 Tolo News 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.
A delegation of the Islamic Emirate left Kabul for Tehran last Saturday to meet with the country's officials over a range of issues.
"In this visit, political, economic, transit issues as well as (Afghan) refugees will be discussed between the two sides," said Hafiz Zia Ahmad, deputy spokesman for the foreign minister.
Earlier in the day, NRF denied meeting between Taliban's acting Foreign Minister Muttaqi. Spokesperson of NRF Sibghatullah Ahmadi told Hasht-e-Sub (Afghan newspaper) that no meeting between the two has been conducted in Tehran, reported The Khaama Press.
Taliban spokesperson Bilal Karimi had also denied the meeting in Iran.
On Saturday, clashes between the Taliban and National Resistance Front (NRF) broke out in Afghanistan's Panjshir province, Sputnik reported citing local media.
According to Afghan Aamaj News sources, the Taliban attacked the NRF in Anaba district of Panjshir, Sputnik News Agency reported.
In November 2021, the Afghan National Resistance Front said that more and more people were joining the organization to fight the Taliban rule, with members of the NRF gathering in Panjshir, Kapisa, Parwan, Badakhshan, Balkh, and Baghlan provinces, as per the media outlet.
The Taliban took over Afghanistan after entering Kabul in August 2021, leading to the collapse of the Ashraf Ghani led government and mass evacuations.
