Iran’s special representative for Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, said on Saturday that advising the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) does not mean interference in its internal affairs, adding that the Tehran meeting was a good platform for the IEA which declined to attend.

Qomi stated this in a press conference after the second meeting of the regional contact group for Afghanistan between the representatives of Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran in Tehran.

The envoy emphasized that no country in the world has acted as much as Iran in supporting the people of Afghanistan and engaging with the Islamic Emirate.

He pointed out that Afghanistan’s neighbors are looking to prepare a “comprehensive road map” for rebuilding the country.

Referring to the first and second UN-sponsored Doha meetings on Afghanistan, Qomi said that what was discussed in the meetings was not something that would help Afghanistan.

He mentioned that one of the issues was the appointment of a special representative by the United Nations for Afghanistan, while UNAMA is present in Afghanistan.

The diplomat also noted that Tehran will help any initiative that paves the way for the Islamic Emirate as a responsible government, but if something is to be imposed or has no result, it will not support it.

He said that efforts are underway to change the agenda of the upcoming third Doha meeting, and the policy is that the Islamic Emirate attend the meeting.

The Islamic Emirate has confirmed that it was invited to the meeting in Tehran, but did not accept it.

Zakir Jalaly, Director of the Third Political Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, said that the Afghan government expects that meetings on Afghanistan should be held through the existing mechanisms, not new ones.

He added that the Afghan government is engaged in discussions with relevant sides about the upcoming third Doha meeting.

The third Doha meeting on Afghanistan is scheduled to be held on June 30.

The second meeting of the Regional Contact Group for Afghanistan, known as the Moscow Format, was held on Saturday in Tehran, the capital of Iran.  

Iranian media reported that the representatives of Iran, Russia, China and Pakistan attended the meeting.

At the meeting, the Director-General of the South Asia Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran Seyyed Rasoul Mousavi said that the countries of the region play a constructive role in ensuring the peace, stability, and development of Afghanistan.

Mousavi added that in regional meetings, in addition to recalling the problems, solutions and ways to get out of these issues should also be considered.

Despite the invitation, the Islamic Emirate did not participate in the meeting.

Zakir Jalaly, Director of the Third Political Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, said that the IEA declined the invitation to a regional meeting.

Jalaly said in a post on X that the Afghan government declined the invitation to the meeting. He said that the Afghan government expects that meetings on Afghanistan should be held through the existing mechanisms, not new ones.

Meanwhile, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokesperson for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a press conference in Islamabad that the second meeting of the contact group hosted by Iran is important to ensure peace, security and stability in the region.

Zahra Baloch added that Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Asif Ali Khan Durrani participated in this meeting.

“Pakistan believes that the role of the regional contact group is very important for Afghanistan and provides an opportunity to strengthen regional cooperation. Consultations at the regional contact group level ensure that Afghanistan does not become a center for terrorist activities, and at the same time, the neighboring countries support Afghanistan’s efforts for the welfare and economic improvement of their people,” she said.

Earlier, Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said that the agenda of the third Doha meeting will also be discussed at the meeting of the contact group in Tehran.

The Moscow Format meeting is being held in Tehran while the representatives of twenty-five countries and some envoys of international organizations and institutions are scheduled to meet in Doha on June 30 and July 1 to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

US President Joe Biden has emphasized that American forces “remain postured” outside Afghanistan to address terrorist threats.

Biden said this in a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President pro tempore of the Senate.

“United States military personnel remain postured outside Afghanistan to address threats to the United States homeland and United States interests that may arise from inside Afghanistan,” according to the letter released by the White House on Friday.

US completed its military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Some members of the House of Representatives and the US Senate have criticized Biden’s decision to withdraw the American troops from Afghanistan.