Afghan Consulate In Tajikistan Operates Under Taliban’s Foreign Ministry Supervision

After the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, this is the second time that the meeting of ECO leaders has been held without the presence of representatives of Afghanistan.

The last time, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, the former president of Afghanistan, participated and addressed the ECO summit, was in 2021.

Uzbek officials said that while Afghanistan is a member of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), due to the internal political changes in the country since August 2021, the country has temporarily not participated in ECO summits.

According to Uzbek officials, Taliban representatives can only participate in ECO summits when the group’s government is recognised by the international community.

The leaders of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Turkey are present at the ECO summit.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the president of Uzbekistan, is the head of this round of the ECO summit.

The participants will discuss economic cooperation, investment, transportation, and the development of industrial cooperation during the ECO summit.

The Economic Cooperation Organisation, which is a regional intergovernmental economic structure, was established in 1984 by Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey, and its headquarters is in Tehran. Afghanistan and seven central Asian countries that had taken independence from the former Soviet Union received membership in the organisation in 1992.

Sources said that the Taliban wants to distract the public from more important issues by spreading false propaganda.

According to sources, the Qosh Tapa Canal is built in northern Afghanistan, which technically, has no impact on Pakistan.

Earlier, a Taliban official said that Pakistani officials have asked the group's leaders to stop work on the development of Qosh Tapa Canal.

Abdul Haq Hammad, Director of the Broadcasting Monitoring Department of the Ministry of Information and Culture of the Taliban said that Pakistani officials have discussed the Qosh Tapa Canal during the official meetings with the Taliban.

During an interview with TOLOnews TV, Hammad added that Pakistani officials have repeatedly and clearly asked Taliban leaders in official meetings to "shut down the Qosh Tapa canal”.

Hammad did not name any Pakistani officials but added that when asked why the canal should be shut, they said, "This canal is detrimental to us."

However, sources in Pakistan's interim government said that no such request was made in any meeting between Pakistani officials and the Taliban.

These sources clarified, "Since the Qosh Tapa Canal does not affect Pakistan, it is not reasonable for Pakistan to put such a request with the Taliban."

In the past two years, the Taliban has invested a substantial amount of money in the Qosh Tapa canal project, which diverts a portion of the Amu River's water to the northern regions of Balkh, Jowzjan, and Faryab provinces.

It is said that the canal is intended to provide irrigation for approximately 550,000 hectares of land and serve up to three million people. Critics contend that the Taliban may have employed the canal to relocate their targeted population and advance the group’s strategic objectives.

In the group photo of the leaders of the member states of the ECO summit, the flag and representative of Afghanistan is missing.

The leaders of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Turkey are present at the ECO summit.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the president of Uzbekistan, is the head of this round of the ECO summit.

The participants will discuss economic cooperation, investment, transportation, and the development of industrial cooperation during the ECO summit.

The Economic Cooperation Organisation, which is a regional intergovernmental economic structure, was established in 1984 by Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey, and its headquarters is in Tehran. Afghanistan and seven central Asian countries that had taken independence from the former Soviet Union received membership in the organisation in 1992.

On Wednesday, West wrote on the X social media platform that these senseless attacks on the Hazaras must stop and called for a full investigation.

Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, said that a thorough and transparent investigation should be conducted to identify the perpetrators of the Dasht Barchi attacks and hold them accountable. He described the attacks as "terrible".

At least seven people were killed, and 20 others were injured in a bomb explosion on a passenger vehicle in Dasht Barchi area of western Kabul on Tuesday evening.

ISIS claimed responsibility for this attack.

During a joint press conference with Emomali Rahmon, the president of Tajikistan in Dushanbe, Raisi said that Iran and Tajikistan share common concerns about the situation of the Afghan people.

The president of Iran called the US presence in Afghanistan for around two decades an “occupation” of the country and added, "The United States left nothing but destruction, and murder in Afghanistan."

Raisi added that as two neighbours, “We feel responsible towards the people of Afghanistan more than others.”

Addressing the press conference along with Raisi, the President of Tajikistan who continuously emphasised the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan over the past two years, said that Tajikistan, as a country that has experienced civil war, declares its support for the peaceful resolution of problems and conflicts through diplomacy and negotiations in Afghanistan.

The President of Iran visited Dushanbe city, the capital of Tajikistan, on Wednesday morning and met and spoke with Emmomali Rahmon, the President of Tajikistan, and Mahmadtohir Zokirzoda, the country’s chairman of the Assembly of Representatives.

According to the Iranian president’s office, in both meetings, the two sides discussed the situation in Afghanistan.

After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, several well-known figures of Afghanistan, including Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front, have been stationed in Tajikistan. However, the authorities of this country have not officially confirmed the presence of these anti-Taliban figures.