Zakir Jalali, a foreign ministry adviser for the Taliban, addressed criticism from the former Iranian ambassador to Kabul regarding the Taliban's reluctance to label the ISIS suicide attack in Kerman, Iran, as a “terrorist” act.
Jalali stated that the Taliban, referring to ISIS as "seditionists," has never labelled even the gravest crimes of this group in Afghanistan as terrorist.
The Taliban's foreign ministry denounced the Kerman incident, where two explosions killed nearly a hundred people, but refrained from categorising it as “terrorist.” Former Iranian ambassador Mohammad Reza Bahrami pointed out this omission, suggesting it carried significant implications.
Responding to Bahrami's remarks on social media, Jalali argued that Bahrami, with his diplomatic background in Afghanistan, should have a "more precise understanding" of such matters.
This stance contrasts with the Taliban's recent condemnation of the killing of six Hazara citizens in Herat, which they explicitly called an act of “terrorism.” The Taliban's Ministry of Interior identified the victims as "innocent compatriots" and attributed the attack to unknown individuals.
The ISIS group claimed responsibility for the Kerman explosions, stating that two of its suicide bombers were involved. Historically, the Taliban itself has conducted numerous deadly suicide attacks across Afghanistan.
Following a Taliban governor's death in an ISIS suicide attack in March 2023, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid described the event as an act by “enemies of Islam.”
