Iran, China voice support for Afghanistan’s national unity, independence

The top diplomat made the remarks in a tweet upon arriving in China on Wednesday at the head of a ranking political delegation to attend the third edition of a gathering of the foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries.

Tehran and Beijing, he added, “hope to witness a stable and advanced Afghanistan, which interacts with its neighbors,” he added.

The event’s first and second editions were respectively hosted by Pakistan and the Islamic Republic last year.

“Afghanistan deserves more attention on the part of the international community,” the Iranian foreign minister noted.

Afghanistan has been in turmoil since the Taliban, who had previously ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, took power again on August 15 last year and subsequently announced the formation of a caretaker government.

The group’s resurgence came amid hasty and chaotic departure of American forces from the Central Asian country.

The United States and its allies then largely suspended their financial assistance to Afghanistan, adding fuel to a refugee crisis that has dramatically affected Afghanistan’s neighbors.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has frozen nearly $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank since the withdrawal of its occupation forces.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have also suspended activities in Afghanistan, withholding aid as well as $340 million in new reserves issued by the IMF.