Intra-Afghan Talks Should Be Focus of Tehran & Doha Meetings, Says Afghan Movement

On the eve of the Contact Group meeting in Tehran, the Afghanistan National Movement for Peace and Justice wrote a letter stating that intra-Afghan negotiations should be the main focus of this meeting and the third Doha meeting.

This political movement emphasised that participants in the Tehran meeting should consider the opinions of all Afghan politicians.

The second meeting of the Contact Group within the Moscow Format, with representatives from Iran, Pakistan, China, and Russia, will be held in Tehran on Saturday.

The third Doha meeting, hosted by the United Nations with special representatives from various countries on Afghan affairs, is scheduled for June 30 and July 1.

On Friday, Jalil Shams, the head of this movement, referencing the Moscow Format meeting in Tehran and the third Doha meeting, wrote that increasing poverty, deprivation, human rights violations, the spread of extremism among young people, and the lack of necessary actions against foreign militant groups have exacerbated instability in Afghanistan and beyond.

Shams stated that participants in the Tehran and Doha meetings should align their diplomatic efforts with the United Nations Security Council resolution.

The United Nations Security Council had asked the Secretary-General to appoint a special representative for peace in Afghanistan.

Several former government officials, including Hanif Atmar, former Minister of Foreign Affairs; Masoom Stanekzai, former chief negotiator, and several other politicians, are members of the Afghanistan National Movement for Peace and Justice. This movement was established in 2022.

It stated that the Taliban must adhere to international commitments regarding peace, security, human rights, especially the rights of women, girls, and ethnic and religious minorities.

The movement emphasised that participants in these two meetings should consider the UN special coordinator for Afghanistan Feridun Sinirlioğlu's evaluation of intra-Afghan dialogues as a suitable path for ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan.

The letter mentioned that the Doha meeting is currently the only international process concerning Afghanistan.

The head of the National Movement for Peace and Justice stressed that deviating from the UN Security Council resolution on Afghanistan would have negative and irreparable consequences.

The movement criticised the exclusion of Afghan politicians and civil society representatives from meetings related to Afghanistan, especially the Doha meeting and the Moscow Format.

According to this movement, excluding these groups from political processes will hinder achieving a final and desirable situation in Afghanistan.

This political movement suggested that for the participation of Afghan stakeholders in these meetings, separate sessions with both opposing sides should be held with an agenda, and the process should continue until the ground for intra-Afghan dialogues is prepared.