Former Pakistani Envoy Calls on Taliban to Follow Moscow Format Recommendations

Speaking at a meeting with Massoud Pezeshkian, Maleki expressed concerns regarding the Taliban’s conduct, specifically their refusal to honour Iran’s water rights from the Hirmand River, which has led to severe drought and posed significant challenges for the people of the region. “We have repeatedly warned that the Taliban, just as they have withheld the Hirmand water rights, will prove unreliable in other matters as well,” Maleki said.

Maleki further criticised the Taliban’s characterisation of natural floods as fulfilling Iran’s water rights obligations.

He stressed the need for the Islamic Republic to seriously reconsider its relations with the Taliban, given their actions.

In May 2023, Abdul Latif Mansour, the Taliban’s Minister of Energy and Water, in a meeting with Hassan Mortazavi, the Deputy Ambassador of the Islamic Republic in Kabul, asserted that a significant portion of Iran’s water rights had been fulfilled and that the release of water would continue. Mortazavi expressed hope that resolving the water issue could foster greater cooperation between Iran and the Taliban.

Hassan Kazemi Qomi, the Iranian President’s special envoy for Afghanistan, had previously stated that technical obstacles to the allocation of Iran’s water rights by the Taliban had been addressed.

According to statements from both sides, the discussions focused on bilateral cooperation and the situation in Afghanistan, with both ministers emphasizing that foreign interference in Afghan affairs is “not constructive.”

Hafiz Zia Ahmad, a Taliban’s foreign ministry spokesman, quoted Muttaqi as stating on the social media platform X, “The Moscow format holds special significance for Afghanistan, and we seek to transform it into a mechanism for enhancing cooperation between Afghanistan and regional countries.” The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry described the meeting as “promising,” noting that political, economic, and regional issues were addressed.

In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the meeting, stating that the two officials discussed efforts towards peace in Afghanistan, as well as opportunities for strengthening ties between Moscow and Kabul.

Taliban officials in Kunduz province have not yet commented on the incident.

Meanwhile, residents of Kunduz province confirmed to Afghanistan International on Saturday, October 5, that an explosion had taken place at the Imam Sahib port.

The Afghanistan Freedom Front has posted a video on the social media network X documenting the moment of the explosion in Kunduz Province.

The front said in a statement that 13 Taliban members had been killed and two others were wounded in the attack.

"The attack was carried out at 6:25pm on Friday by the forces of the National Resistance Front on the headquarters of the third Battalion of the Fourth Brigade, a special unit of the Ministry of Defence of the Taliban in the village of Mohammad Baig Khel," the statement said.

The National Resistance Front called the attack "one of the most deadly attacks by the National Resistance Front forces against the Taliban in recent months”.

On Friday evening, residents of Panjshir reported a relatively powerful explosion in Dara district to Afghanistan International. Local sources said that after the explosion, the Taliban closed the area and evacuated the victims of the explosion with ambulances.

Abdullah Farooqi, a spokesman for the Taliban's police command in Panjshir, said that a gas balloon exploded in a guesthouse, injuring six people in the incident.

The injured were rushed to medical centres and are in critical condition, he said. He wrote on the social media network X that the explosion did not cause any financial damage.

According to the report, these Afghan refugee families returned to Afghanistan from the Torkham, Spin Boldak, Pul-e-Abrisham, and Islam Qala crossings.

According to figures published by Bakhtar, 35 families entered Afghanistan through the Torkham crossing, 30 families from the Spin Boldak crossing, 77 families from the Silk Bridge crossing, and 99 families from the Islam Qala crossing.

Iran and Pakistan have sharply increased the deportation of Afghan refugees without residency documents.

These immigrants are forcibly deported in most cases.