FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH IRAN VITAL FOR AFGHANISTAN: KARZAI
TEHERAN, 12 Aug. (IPS) Mr. Hamed Karzai, the Afghan Prime Minister described Monday as "vital" Kabol’s relations with neighbouring Iran and "appreciated" Iran’s pledges for the reconstruction of his war-shattered nation.
Speaking to Iranian state-run Television on the eve of President Mohammad Khatami’s one day visit to Kabol, Mr. Karzai said: "For us, relations with Iran are vital, and Khatami's visit will be a turning point in our relationship".
The visit is in response to Mr. Karzai’s trip to Tehran in February.
"We appreciate Iran's aid for the reconstruction of our country, and its role for peace and stability in the region", he added, quoted by the official news agency IRNA.
Khatami is due in Kabol Tuesday for the first time, in a bid to cement ties with the Afghan government that the Iran helped its installation, but whose close ties with Washington have aroused growing suspicion among Iranian ruling conservatives.
Afghan Foreign Minister Abdollah Abdollah defended US military presence in Afghanistan, stressing that it does not present prejudice to any third country, including Iran, which has held no diplomatic relations with Washington since 1979.
"I think America did not dispatch its forces to Afghanistan to threaten Iran. The 11 September incident created a new situation and this presence, rather than being a threat to Afghanistan's neighbours, is intended to confront a threat which is still posed by al-Qa’eda in the region", Abdollah told IRNA in an exclusive interview.
"US forces will remain in Afghanistan until all the threats posed by al-Qa’eda, which Washington accuses of being behind the 11 September attack on American land marks, are fully repelled", he added.
Alongside Russia, Iran played an important role in backing the Northern Alliance forces of the late Ahmad Shah Mas’ood that fought the Pakistani-backed Taleban and its guest, al-Qa’eda organisation and co-operated with both the United States and the United Nations during the inter-Afghan talks in the Bonn conference in December, which named Mr. Karzai as the first head of Afghanistan interim government.
But relations degraded after Iran’s lamed and unpopular autocrat leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i refused to collaborate with Washington in its military operations in Afghanistan, aimed at toppling the Taleban and disbanding al-Qa’eda, and opposed America's long-term presence in Kabol.
Washington accuses Iran of letting al-Qa’eda members slip through its territories to neighbouring countries as well as trying to destabilise Karzai, allegations that Tehran has rejected forcefully.
In a recent speech at the Washington Institute, Mr. Zalmai Khalizad, president George W. Bush’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia reiterated that the Iranian ruling ayatollahs have provided safe heaven to al-Qa’eda terrorists and Taleban officials.
But America’s accusations were confirmed Monday after Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faysal told "The Washington Post" that Iran had extradited 16 Saudi nationals believed to have belonged to al Qa’eda and had had escaped to Iran after the collapse of the Taleban regime.
Iran confirmed Mr. Faysal, saying by handing the suspects to Saudi Arabia Tehran wanted to prove its sincerity in fighting international terrorism under the banner of the United Nations.
"The presence of American troops in Afghanistan has been for a special purpose and they will remain here until al-Qa’eda threats are removed", Dr. Abdollah said, adding: "Our friendly ties with Western countries, especially with the
"United States is both a fundamental necessity for establishing peace and security in Afghanistan and its development", the Foreign Minister observed.
However, a conservatives-controlled newspaper pointed to Tehran's "legitimate concerns" about the build-up of US army forces in that country, reminding that Iran "has repeatedly warned Karzai's administration against letting Afghanistan turn into a permanent military base for Western powers, the US in particular".
"Ever since the fall of the Taleban and the rise of Hamed Karzai to power in Afghanistan, full normalisation of ties with Kabul has been a priority of the Tehran government", said "Jaam Jam", which is published by Iranian Radio and Television Organisation and controlled directly by Mr. Khameneh'i.
"But the first step would be for Kabol to prove its good will by negating anti-Iran propaganda", it said, referring to American accusations against the Islamic Republic.
Khatami will be accompanied by a high-ranking political, economic and cultural delegation.
An Iranian government spokesman said Sunday the talks between Khatami and his Afghan counterpart would focus on security issues, reconstruction of Afghanistan and the illegal drug trade along the nations' shared 900-kilometre (560-mile) border.
Tehran has pledged to grant 560 million dollars over the next five years for Afghanistan's reconstruction.
The promise was criticised by some reformist deputies, stating that in the absence of any clear policy for Afghanistan, it is absurd to deprive the needy Iranians and the country’s industries from such a substantial sum.
But it was approved by the Majles after other lawmakers observed that not only it was in the interest of Iran, but it would also help Iran's exports. ENDS KHATAMI KABOL VISIT 12802