Taliban – A bitter reality

Mohammad Ali Bahmani Qajār
Negotiating with the Taliban militant group is an issue that has pros and cons in Iran but, in order to analyse and judge these actions, one must consider the points that are very effective in the final analysis. All countries involved in the Afghanistan affair and all influential actors have taken their turn in negotiating with the Taliban and the government and political groups inside Afghanistan are negotiating with the militant group. This means that not only have all the foreign governments involved in this issue negotiated with the Taliban but also the government and opposition political groups in Afghanistan, which illustrates that the Taliban is a bitter reality in Afghanistan. Given the Taliban’s power and authority in parts of Afghanistan, negotiations with this group are virtually inevitable. The interpretation of this inevitable negotiation as “negotiation with an anti-American group” is a misinterpretation and a result of ignoring the realities of the region. The existence of the Taliban is the result of the policies of the Pakistani army and the Pakistan Intelligence and Security Agency, and there is no doubt that Islamabad is dependent on the West and the United States.
Even the late Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, stated that the creation of the Taliban was the result of cooperation between the United States, Britain, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.  This group also signed a peace agreement with the US and, under no circumstances, can the Taliban claim to be an anti-American group. The Taliban is not and will not be an anti-American group and the more this group gains power in Afghanistan, the more Iran will suffer. The Taliban’s opposition to Shiite Iran is inherent and, as a result, this group cannot be considered to be a friend; Iranian society has never had and will never have such a view. Despite these explanations, the Taliban is still an undeniable presence in Afghanistan, which has taken over large parts of the country’s territory, leading to all influential countries from China and Russia to Qatar, Iran and the United States negotiating with this group. It cannot be said that the very nature of these negotiations is wrong because it is inevitable and necessary to ensure national interest and security. Iran has often taken a positive and constructive stance on Afghan issues and, indeed, the Islamic Republic of Iran recognizes the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, thereby recognizing the constitution of the country. Iran supports the current political system of Afghanistan and considers it a guarantee for the views of different ethnic and political groups to be seen. If the Islamic Emirate is to be re-established in the same style as in the late 1990s, and come to power without elections, ethnic and religious pluralism in Afghanistan will be denied and the result will be nothing but insecurity, instability, war and poverty. Such issues would certainly be detrimental to Iran’s national interests and, for this reason, efforts should be made to implement the demands of the Afghan people democratically through a political mechanism. 
Meanwhile, a change of government in the United States will also change the political situation in Afghanistan. The Donald Trump administration was simply trying to remove the United States from the region at any cost and, as a result, paid a lot of money to the Taliban, but this is now different in the case of the new US administration. Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, and the US President, Joe Biden, will likely put the “responsible exit” strategy on the agenda and prefer to support the official and legitimate government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, rather than rush to withdraw US troops and tarnish the image of the US to the rest of the world, and ransom the Taliban militants that are fighting their people.

It cannot be said that the very nature of these negotiations is wrong because it is inevitable and necessary to ensure national interest and security