Taliban renew threats against govt, seeks ties with Iran
WASHINGTON, June 31 (UPI) -- Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammed Yousuf said Afghan militants are preparing a new offensive against the government of President Hamid Karzai.
Yousuf, who was appointed spokesman for the Taliban in October 2005 after the arrest of the Taliban's former media spokesman, Latifullah Hakimi in Quetta, made his remarks in a June 30 interview with Tehran's Fars news agency. Yousuf said, "Anarchy reigns in the country and only we can be bring back stability."
The Iranian government opposed the Taliban and nearly went to war against them in late 1998 after nine Iranian diplomats were murdered in Afghanistan. While Iran tacitly supported the U.S.-led coalition which overthrew the Taliban in November 2001, in light of international pressure over Iran's nuclear energy program Tehran's traditional hostility towards the Taliban appears to be changing.
The Iranian government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sees Karzai's government as too pro-Western and feels threatened by the presence of U.S. and Western troops in Afghanistan.
Yousuf said that the situation in Afghanistan is "chaotic and out of control. The United States have invaded Afghanistan and overthrown an authentic Muslim regime to replace it with a group of traitors and pro-Western servants who have no right to govern the country and are unable to do so."
Yousuf said that Karzai is a Western puppet and "has organized presidential and parliamentary elections, tribal assemblies and meetings while pursuing only one objective, the de-Islamization of Afghan society to transform the country in a land to be conquered. The Afghans have uncovered their plot to destroy the country and, as they did with the Russians in the past, this time too they have reacted with courage and strength kicking Western invaders out."
Yousuf, who was appointed spokesman for the Taliban in October 2005 after the arrest of the Taliban's former media spokesman, Latifullah Hakimi in Quetta, made his remarks in a June 30 interview with Tehran's Fars news agency. Yousuf said, "Anarchy reigns in the country and only we can be bring back stability."
The Iranian government opposed the Taliban and nearly went to war against them in late 1998 after nine Iranian diplomats were murdered in Afghanistan. While Iran tacitly supported the U.S.-led coalition which overthrew the Taliban in November 2001, in light of international pressure over Iran's nuclear energy program Tehran's traditional hostility towards the Taliban appears to be changing.
The Iranian government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sees Karzai's government as too pro-Western and feels threatened by the presence of U.S. and Western troops in Afghanistan.
Yousuf said that the situation in Afghanistan is "chaotic and out of control. The United States have invaded Afghanistan and overthrown an authentic Muslim regime to replace it with a group of traitors and pro-Western servants who have no right to govern the country and are unable to do so."
Yousuf said that Karzai is a Western puppet and "has organized presidential and parliamentary elections, tribal assemblies and meetings while pursuing only one objective, the de-Islamization of Afghan society to transform the country in a land to be conquered. The Afghans have uncovered their plot to destroy the country and, as they did with the Russians in the past, this time too they have reacted with courage and strength kicking Western invaders out."
posted by Marko at 7/01/2006 09:18:00 AM
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