![In this photograph taken on February 12, a group of Afghan immigrants who were deported back from Iran to Afghanistan, walk at the Islam Qala border between Afghanistan and Iran in Herat province. [Mohsen Karimi/AFP]](/cnmi_st/images/2023/09/27/44258-afghan-border-739_416.webp)
KABUL -- Afghans are increasingly seeing remarks made by Iranian, Russian and Chinese officials about Afghanistan as direct interference in their country's affairs.
Most recently, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi spoke about state building in Afghanistan during the 78th United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York on September 19.
Many believe that in a part of his speech about Afghanistan, Raisi implied that more power should be given to the country's Shia community when he said, "In Afghanistan, Iran emphasizes an inclusive government and the necessity of respecting the rights of all tribes, ethnicities and religions of this country."
Russian and Chinese representatives and officials have also repeatedly discussed Afghanistan's internal affairs in international conferences and meetings with representatives of other countries.
![Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi addresses the 78th session of the UN General Assembly on September 19 in New York. [Iranian presidential office]](/cnmi_st/images/2023/09/27/44256-169521650078051000-739_416.webp)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi addresses the 78th session of the UN General Assembly on September 19 in New York. [Iranian presidential office]
Neighboring and regional countries may not represent Afghanistan at the international level, and any attempt at doing so is interference in Afghanistan's internal affairs, said Abdul Qadeer Niayesh, a Herat University graduate.
"Russia, China and Iran have taken advantage of Afghanistan lacking a recognized government, so they try to take credit on the international stage," he said.
"These countries cannot be impartial as they were directly involved in the two-decade-long conflict in Afghanistan."
"We call on the international community and other states not to allow countries like Russia, China and Iran to represent Afghanistan," Niayesh said. "They are the reason for our misery and have no right to be involved in our internal affairs."
Afghanistan is an independent country, and no other country may represent it, said Nazir Ahmad Sultani, a resident of Herat city.
"In the current critical situation in Afghanistan, only the UN, as a neutral and effective entity, may make statements and decisions about matters related to Afghans. No other country, especially neighbors, should be allowed to do that," he added.
"We always see in the news that neighboring countries, such as Iran and Russia, speak on behalf of Afghanistan in international meetings," he said.
"These countries, which have been behind four decades of bloodshed and destruction in our country, have no shame when making such statements," said Sultani.
Efforts to exert influence
Russia, China and Iran are trying to increase their influence in Afghanistan, analysts say.
These three countries use Afghanistan for their political, economic and espionage games, said Abdul Qader Kamel, a political analyst in Herat.
"Russia is trying to increase its political and intelligence presence in Afghanistan because of its competition and disagreement with the West."
"The increased number of Russian troops along Afghanistan's northern borders is a sign that Russia is interested in interfering in Afghanistan's internal affairs," he said.
"Russia, Iran and China have the same stance toward Afghanistan. These three countries have common goals that they pursue in Afghanistan and in the region. They consider Afghanistan their anti-West backyard," he added.
Any kind of influence these three countries have in Afghanistan is very dangerous and will cause new tensions and war in the country, said Kamel.
For its part, China's goal is to seize Afghanistan's underground minerals, which is why it is trying to expand its influence there, said Hamza Baloch, a political analyst in Nimroz.
"Like a dragon, China wants to swallow Afghanistan's minerals and national wealth," he said, adding, "China is trying to secure its economic interests with empty promises."
Meanwhile, Iran wants Afghanistan to remain unstable, said Baloch.
"Iran never wants a stable Afghanistan. The government of Iran has been involved in Afghan conflicts for decades, undermining the peace and security of this country," he added.
"Iran has several proxy groups in the Middle East that pose a great threat to the security of Afghanistan."
As allies in the region, Iran, Russia and China find their interests in the instability and war in their neighboring countries, and in the region, Baloch said.
Empty and meaningless slogans
For all their desire for influence, Russia, China and Iran have provided little assistance to Afghans suffering from widespread economic problems.
On every international platform, representatives of China, Russia and Iran note poverty and other issues that Afghans face, but do not provide any meaningful assistance to Afghanistan, said Faisal Poya, a civil society activist in Herat city.
"Officials of these countries know only how to repeat slogans. They have not taken any practical measures to improve the situation in Afghanistan," he said.
While Iranian, Chinese and Russian officials talk about poverty and economic problems in Afghanistan on the world stage, their assistance has been insignificant, said Mohammad Javed, a political science student at Herat University.
"In the current difficult situation where most Afghans are suffering from extreme poverty and hunger, neighboring countries, including Iran, China and Russia, have not assisted the people of Afghanistan."
Assistance distributed across the country has been provided by international aid agencies and the West, he noted.
"Speeches of the officials of these three countries about Afghanistan in international conferences do not help Afghans. If they had good intentions, they would have stood beside Afghans and helped them in these difficult times."
Afghanistan's neighbors, especially Iran, China and Russia, have bad intentions for it and are trying to fuel crisis and insecurity there, Javed added.
Russia, Iran and China are the three countries that have paid a lot of money to Afghans so far. Iran is a dirty country that I have no words to express it. China only cares about its own interests. Russia has oppressed against Afghanistan so much throughout history that we will be punished until the doomsday, so we hope that these three countries and Pakistan will not interfere in our internal politics.
Reply7 Comment
We Afghans never had a good day because of these 3 Asian countries; the Soviet Union, Iran, and China. The Soviets attacked our country, and as a result of that attack, millions of our compatriots immigrated to the neighboring countries, which were originally our enemies, but we did not understand. Thousands of our compatriots were martyred in that Soviet attack on our Afghan soil. Our people stopped getting education. The infrastructure of our homeland was destroyed, our roads, our bridges, our schools, most of the factories we had in the north of Afghanistan were destroyed. The Soviets had turned our homeland into a hell during the 14 years long war. It was the Soviet Union that left the foundation of destruction in Afghanistan and until now we Afghans cannot live happily in this country. It was not a few days after the war with the Soviets that our Afghans themselves started the war with support from Iran and Pakistan for gaining power, and this war is also related to the same attack of the Soviets that destabilized our homeland and used various weapons. They gave authority to irresponsible people. All the financial and human losses that Afghans saw during the 43 years of war were all caused by the Soviets. The people of Afghanistan will not forget that Soviet attack. We must remember one thing. We will not forget the mistreatment that Iran and Pakistan have done to our Afghans.
Reply7 Comment
The amount of damage these three countries have done to the Afghans may not have been done by anyone else. It is a fact that they are only chanting slogans. Iran and Russia have not shown any support for Afghanistan so far. Every person knows that there is no support from them. We ask the international community not to seek help for us from those countries that have not yet contributed a single rupee.
Reply7 Comment
I want to say that some rights have been violated in Afghanistan, and people are faced with economic problems and many other issues, but the point is that our country is peaceful. And no one will make statements against Afghans when there is peace in Afghanistan. Afghanistan's acting Interior Minister visited Panjshir today. He met with the local people and tribal leaders. In the meeting, he asked his foreign opponents to come forward and build the country jointly. I am optimistic about Haqqani's remarks and look at it as the unity of Afghans. May God accept the repentance of other Afghan people. May Allah unite them and build Afghanistan with the hands of these people, i.e., the Taliban, despite opposition from the international community and Afghans at home. That is, there is no doubt in the works of God. There is a possibility that our doubts may turn into a reality, and the Taliban will become the makers of Afghanistan. They may share the pain of this country. Then let Iran, China, Russia, and every other country raise their voices, but once we start progressing and become self-sufficient, and God willing, we'll become self-sufficient. Much water has been released in the Qoshtipe canal to irrigate the country's land. The country will go green, and there will be plenty of work for everyone. We will have our cereals. God willing, we won't go hungry.
Reply7 Comment
Part three: The results of pairwise genetic distances, MDS, PCA, and reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships show that today's Hazaras are genetically closer to the populations (Uighurs, Kazakhs, and Kyrgyz) living in Northwest China than to other Central/South Asian populations, and the outgroup and combined results further show that the Hazaras have more similarity with East Asians than other Central Asians and 57.8% ancestral connection to Mongolia. Overall, our findings suggest that the Hazaras formed a mixed East and West Eurasian genetic profile after the separation from the Mongols, and experienced genetic mixing with local or neighboring populations. The new genetic heritage introduced by the Mongol conquests is another interesting part of the gene pool of Eurasia. The present-day Hazara population is historically thought to have originated from the Mongol expansion during the Siege of Bamiyan (1221), thought to be direct descendants of the Mongol imperial army of Genghis Khan (1227-1162). Considering the above points, if Iran is more interested than Afghanistan in Hazara Shias, it is better to transfer them to Iran and there they can give them directorial positions, ministries and even presidents. But it is clear to the whole world like the sun that Iran has done the worst injustice to the Shia Hazaras by sending their youth to the wars in Syria and Iraq, where many of them were killed, and the dirty system of Iran was so low that it did not their dead bodies bac
Reply7 Comment
Part two: And they tell the world the legend of their 138-year-long genocide. Today, Hazaragi is recognized as a separate official language from Dari in Australia. The ethnic debate in Afghanistan was started by Ahmad Shah Massoud who called the Pashtuns uncultured. I recommend visiting the websites of Hazaras to open your eyes. You will see how advanced fake identification is, you will see that Zoroaster has become a Hazara and Kanishka has turned to be a Hazara, and the idols of Bamiyan were the statues of the Hazaras. At the Brussels 2022 conference, which I attended, a London-based Hazara medicine doctor, who was the flagship of the European Union authorities, claimed that despite the massacre of 62% of Hazaras by Abdur Rahman Khan, today Hazaras make 35% of the population of Afghanistan. Therefore, access to the latest scientific research that sheds more light on these matters is completely legitimate and useful. Here, the results of the comprehensive study of the genetic heritage of the Mongolian Hazaras of Afghanistan and Pakistan, which was published in the International Scientific Journal of Forensic Medicine: Genetics, Volume 42, September 2019, pages e1-e12, are presented to those who are interested: Summary: Afghanistan and Pakistan are rich with a complex landscape of culture, linguistics, ethnicity and genetic heritage at the crossroads between the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. The Hazara people have historically been suggested as being of Mongolian desc
Reply7 Comment
Iran has no right to interfere in Afghanistan's internal affairs. If Ebrahim Raisi wants the Shiites to come to power in Afghanistan, first of all, the ruling system in Iran should give rights to the Sunnis in their country. This evil of the century does not even allow the Sunnis to repair their old mosques. It does not allow them to pray in congregation. So why does Iran want Hazara Shiites to come to power in Afghanistan? They were experienced during the republic period. Hazaras have 57.8% of the genetic relationship of ancestors to the people of Mongolia! Once Mohammad Mohaqiq said that there is no DNA research to show that we [they] are of Mongol descent. Here are the results of one of these DNA researches. Why should Mohaqiq hide his Mongolian relativity? The Mongols were renowned explorers and created the largest continuous empire in human history from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to Moscow and to the Gulf of Oman. Instead of useless efforts in creating a fake Aryan identity, the Hazaras of Afghanistan and Pakistan should be proud of their original Mongolian relativity, which has been confirmed by all scientific genetic studies by the world's most prestigious scientific centers! Now is not the time to hide. All tribes are proud of their ancestral relativity. There is nothing wrong with acquiring knowledge, especially since the issue of ethnic groups has become the main topic of social, historical and political discussions in the last twenty years. Regarding the demogr
Reply7 Comment