Ahmad Masud stated at a conference in Moscow that Afghanistan has turned into “Talibanistan.” On November 23, an international conference titled “Afghanistan – Between the Past and the Future: On the Path to a Just Peace and Sustainable Development” took place in Moscow. The conference was organized by Sergey Mironov, the leader of the “Just Russia” […]
Ahmad Masud stated at a conference in Moscow that Afghanistan has turned into “Talibanistan.”
On November 23, an international conference titled “Afghanistan – Between the Past and the Future: On the Path to a Just Peace and Sustainable Development” took place in Moscow.
The conference was organized by Sergey Mironov, the leader of the “Just Russia” party, known for its close cooperation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Participants included the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan Ahmad Masud, the president of the Afghan Women’s Association Fawzia Koofi, the chairman of the People’s Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, and several other prominent representatives from Afghanistan.
Also attending the conference were Alexey Chepa, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, leaders and experts from institutions of the Russian Academy of Sciences, diplomats from the embassies of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries, and other Russian politicians.
Speaking at the conference, Ahmad Masud called it a bold step that Russia is taking towards Afghanistan. He lamented that Afghanistan has turned into “Talibanistan.” He emphasized that a government that does not respect its people is unlikely to adhere to international laws or respect other countries. Masud proposed a potential solution of holding a referendum in Afghanistan to determine the country’s political future, as well as elections to form a people’s government.
“The strength of Afghanistan lies in respecting the ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and historical diversity of the country. Any group that seeks to impose itself on the people while excluding others will remain a disgraceful stain in history,” Masud stated.
The chairman of the People’s Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq stated that “the U.S. considered Ashraf Ghani and the Taliban as their representatives, while viewing the mujahideen as their enemies.”
The conference of Taliban opponents is taking place in Moscow in the same hall where representatives of the Taliban met with Russian politicians two years ago at the invitation of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
More than 27 months have passed since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, and trade, economic, and political ties between Kabul and Moscow continue to strengthen. A new development is the holding of a conference in Moscow that includes both representatives of the Russian authorities and opposition forces opposing the Taliban for the first time.