Ahmad Masood, leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, spoke at the Herat Security Talks conference, which took place on November 29-30 in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.
Source: Press Service of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan,
Unofficial translation
First of all, I send greetings to the souls of all the martyrs of the people of Afghanistan, especially the martyrs who gave their sweet life in the name of honor, freedom, and justice in the outgoing year. May their souls be happy and may their memory be blessed!
I would like to thank the Center for Strategic Studies of Afghanistan for continuing the important meetings of the Herat Security Talks. At the same time, I must thank the Center for the Study of Afghanistan and the Region of Tajikistan for hosting this important conference. I want to express my gratitude to the President of Tajikistan, who from the very beginning focused on finding a political solution and establishing peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Despite the serious challenges our country is facing, I am delighted that the 10th round of the Herat Security Talks is taking place in the beautiful city of Dushanbe, which has emotional and civilizational ties to the historic city of Herat. It was organized by scientists, politicians, and diplomats. Such discussions are rooted in the region's ancient and shared culture and represent a collaborative effort to find a solution in the heart of Asia.
I will begin my short story with the last years leading up to the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Over the past year and a half, we have heard and read several times that our foreign friends sometimes spoke of the fall of the republic as a shock and surprise, when the signs of the fall and catastrophe on August 15, 2021, were evident years earlier.
We have repeatedly shared these fears at meetings with delegations from the countries of the region and the world, national leaders, and statesmen of Afghanistan, but, unfortunately, due to the lack of serious attention and resolution of these fears at that time, we witnessed the tragedy of August 15 and the loss of freedom, honor, security, material and spiritual values of the country.
So there was no surprise, and the fall was clearly predicted and could have been prevented. But there was also false optimism in the promises of the Taliban, for example, under the guarantees of some countries, 5,000 Taliban prisoners were released, who were not supposed to return to their ranks. We have all witnessed that all these forces returned to the battlefield contrary to promises.
After the fall of the republic and as a result of the military occupation of Kabul and the continuation of the policy of force and violence of the Taliban, the resistance of Afghan men and women manifested itself in various forms.
Dear attendees!
From the very beginning, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan tried to resolve the country's problem peacefully and open doors for dialogue with the Taliban, either through various delegations inside the country or at meetings outside of it. But, unfortunately, our experience of communication and dialogue with the Taliban, as well as negotiations at the regional and global level, has brought only disappointment. They have not changed a bit and still insist on their arbitrariness, backwardness, and despotic policy.
Brothers and sisters!
For the past 28 years, the Taliban have deliberately violated the Islamic, cultural and human values and principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Afghanistan is a party. The UN General Assembly resolution on Afghanistan adopted three weeks ago, "demonstrates its deep concern over the developments and fluctuations in Afghanistan from the time the Taliban came to power to the present." This resolution recognizes that the Taliban will push the country into worse conditions.
This time there are serious concerns about the persistence of the current difficult situation in which the people of Afghanistan find themselves. This has been discussed by the distinguished attendees of the security conference over the past two days, and I felt it necessary to share some points with you.
Today, Afghanistan has become a training and recruiting center for regional and international terrorist groups and a large prison for its people, a direct result of the actions of the Taliban.
The people of Afghanistan, the countries of the region, and the international community know that their persistent efforts to persuade the Taliban to change have not produced results. The Taliban, contrary to Islamic teachings and beliefs and generally accepted values, have imposed their despotic and cruel methods on our people.
As you all know, the citizens of our country, especially women, are deprived of their fundamental rights. A humanitarian, economic, and security crisis has gripped our people. Our goal is that all Afghan citizens - men and women - have full and equal rights. Thus, in addition to focusing on the education of girls, we emphasize the restoration of the fundamental rights of the entire Afghan people, of which the right to a good education is a part, and ask the international community to make serious and practical efforts in this regard. The people of Afghanistan deserve much more than is required. Our people deserve a decent, free, and independent life and have the right to play a significant role in determining their own destiny.
The events of the last sixteen months in Afghanistan and the conclusions of the experts of the two-day Herat Security Talks in Dushanbe indicate that the Taliban have completely failed in their claims to establish peace and stability in the country and are unable to control the situation.
Movement, training, and recruitment of regional and international terrorist groups, cultivation, production, and smuggling of drugs, killings and disappearances of military and civil servants, arrests, torture, field trials, forced migration, war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, lack of security and law in Afghanistan is growing at an unprecedented rate. All this poses a serious threat to the people of Afghanistan, the region, and the world.
Separate plans and contacts of countries with the Taliban, due to their tactical security goals, not only did not lead to peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region but in the long run, increase the risk of conflict of interest and continued war and unrest.
Although in recent months regional and global efforts to resolve the Afghan crisis have been formed in various formats, which we welcome, we believe that coordination and continuity are necessary to reach a common consensus on resolving the Afghan problem.
We see no solution to problems and concerns in regional and global tactical engagements with the Taliban. Rather, we believe that the solution to the fundamental problem of Afghanistan, the concerns of the region and the whole world, lies in the creation of a mechanism for regional and international cooperation to help the people of Afghanistan and establish a decentralized, legitimate, and elected political system in this country.
The expansion of women's resistance and confrontation inside Afghanistan and the formation of groups, protests, and movements against the Taliban outside the country testify to the serious dissatisfaction of the people and the elite of the country with the current situation.
Perhaps there is a disagreement in the existing approach, but in principle, all currents require a change in the existing situation to a situation where the people have a fundamental role in determining their own destiny. The formation and activities of the Supreme Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan in Ankara, the Conference of National Leaders in Vienna, and the Herat Security Talks in Dushanbe testify to these efforts.
We believe that the combination of effective political, civilian and military resistance to the Taliban, which requires many sacrifices, creates realistic conditions for constructive negotiations, reconciliation, and the search for permanent solutions to the fundamental problem of Afghanistan. In this regard, unlike the classical theory in the negotiation part of a position of strength or weakness, we confidently negotiate from a position of values, principles, and dignity.
While I'm interested in going into more detail on the points I made, but...
I thank you all for your cooperation and joint efforts for a free, prosperous, and independent Afghanistan.
And God bless you!
