New Head of Iranian Embassy Stirs Controversy Without Even Coming to Kabul

Amnesty listed administrative hurdles to obtain identification documents and problems in visa renewal as some of the issues faced by Afghan refugees.

While thanking Pakistan for hosting most Afghan refugees, the organisation however, stated that it is alarmed by the prolonged legal uncertainty experienced by the refugees as the country lacks national legislation for protection of refugees and asylum seekers.

“Afghan refugees are in limbo in Pakistan as the country has no established procedure to determine refugee status. They cannot rent houses, open bank accounts, activate SIM card or even receive medical treatment,” said Agnes Callamard, Secretary General, Amnesty International.

Amnesty also spoke about the detained protestors and urged the government of Pakistan to release them. It also asked Islamabad to reconsider their process of renewing of visas without visiting Afghanistan as most of those refugees are former government officials, journalists or activists, who are at risk of persecution from the Taliban.

Amnesty International also urged Pakistan not to forcefully deport Afghan refugees whose visas expire before December 31, 2022, a deadline set by up the country.

However, a leaked audio file attributed to him about the Taliban and Afghanistan’s relations has been in the stirring up controversy.

The Embassy of the Islamic Republic announced on Twitter that Aminian will return to Iran at the end of "three years of service" in Afghanistan. It is not clear who is the next ambassador of Tehran to Afghanistan.

Earlier, sources told Afghanistan International that Iran has replaced Bahadur Aminian, the country’s ambassador to Kabul.

The change in Tehran’s ambassador in Kabul comes weeks after Aminian’s controversial speech about the Taliban and Afghanistan had been leaked.

After Afghanistan International published his speech, Aminian has not been seen in Kabul and Iran’s deputy ambassador in Afghanistan has been in charge of the embassy’s operations.

Last month, a hacker group got access to an internal Fars News Agency bulletin and published the full text of its findings on a Telegram channel.

A part of these files was the transcript of the speech of Bahadur Aminian, the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, in a small gathering in Tehran. Aminian had said that if his conversations would get published in the media and reached the Taliban, he would not be able to return to Kabul.

In that speech, the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran had described the Taliban as a disaster that is unacceptable, embarrassing, and subversive, but at the same time, he had emphasised that the Islamic Republic has no choice but to work with them and support them.

He compared the Taliban, which, according to reports, came to power in Afghanistan with the extensive financial and military support of Iran, with the Mongol army, and suggested that the Islamic Republic must treat them like the Mongols so that they become civilised.

Agha Jan returned to Kabul along with Mullah Yaqoob, the Taliban's defense minister on December 8.

He was the head of the Taliban's political committee and was the target of a failed assassination attempt in Pakistan in 2011 as a result of differences among the Taliban.

Since then he has lived in Turkey and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

It is not clear as to why Agha Jan has returned to Kabul.

After the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, there have been many reports about the group’s internal differences between the Haqqanis and the Kandahari Taliban.

The Taliban have continuously tried to keep the details of these differences from leaking outside the group’s inner circles. But in the latest case, hundreds of Kandahari Taliban have left Helmand and returned to Kandahar due to group differences and dissatisfaction.

Some observers believe that Agha Jan has returned to Kabul to resolve these internal differences.

After Afghanistan International published his speech, Aminian has not been seen in Kabul and Iran’s deputy ambassador in Afghanistan has been in charge of the embassy’s operations.

Last month, a hacker group got access to an internal Fars News Agency bulletin and published the full text of its findings on a Telegram channel.

A part of these files was the transcript of the speech of Bahadur Aminian, the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, in a small gathering in Tehran. Aminian had said that if his conversations would get published in the media and reached the Taliban, he would not be able to return to Kabul.

In that speech, the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran had described the Taliban as a disaster that is unacceptable, embarrassing, and subversive, but at the same time, he had emphasised that the Islamic Republic has no choice but to work with them and support them.

He compared the Taliban, which, according to reports, came to power in Afghanistan with the extensive financial and military support of Iran, with the Mongol army, and suggested that the Islamic Republic must treat them like the Mongols so that they become civilised.

The text of Aminian’s speech had been published by Afghanistan International.

The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Kabul reacted immediately and confirmed the main source of the news publication, but called publishing the news as biased.

The last time Aminian had been seen in Kabul was in a meeting with Hamid Karzai, three days before the news of his speech was published. Hasan Mortazavi, the deputy ambassador of the Islamic Republic, has been running the affairs of the embassy and has been meeting with the Taliban officials over the last two weeks.

During the past week, it has been reported that Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran’s special envoy for Afghanistan, has replaced Aminian as the new Ambassador of Tehran in Kabul. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran reacted to these rumors and announced that Qomi will continue to work as the special envoy in Afghanistan affairs.

Russia said that according to their information, at least five people had been killed and 30 others, including five Chinese citizens, had been injured in the attack.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia stressed that joint and coordinated action of the international community is necessary to eradicate terrorist threats from Afghanistan.

Earlier, the Russian embassy had been attacked in Kabul which killed two senior diplomats of the country too. ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attack.

ISIS had previously said that the Taliban is not capable of providing security for embassies in Afghanistan.

The group also attacked the Charge d'Affaires of the Pakistani embassy in Kabul. He was not harmed in the attack, but his bodyguard was seriously injured.

As the ISIS attacks increased on foreign targets in Afghanistan, Russia suspended its consular services in Afghanistan, Pakistan pulled out its ambassador, and China has asked its citizens to leave Afghanistan.