Dr. Rouhollah Eslami, in an interview with the website of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, referred to the final statement of the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Iran, Russia, China and Pakistan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Summit and the Collective Security Treaty on Afghanistan and also the Taliban’s rise to power and how to deal with it for members of the Organization, he noted: In this organization, Tajikistan and India are opposed to the Taliban and have no decision to hold talks with them; for this reason, they did not participate in that meeting.
He added: Dushanbe sees the Taliban as an anti-civilian group that will pose a major threat to Tajikistan in the future. India was also a great ally for Afghanistan, given its numerous investments; but now it feels that those investments have been wasted and Afghanistan’s advantages for India have been destroyed and will be replaced by Pakistan.
The analyst of international affairs said that China and Pakistan have a clearer approach to the Taliban and are closer to them, adding: Pakistan considers itself the winner of this process; but because of the possibility of repulsion, it does not want to be a pioneer in recognizing the Taliban. The country has also announced the three conditions of respect for human rights, absence of terrorist acts, and establishment of an inclusive government for recognizing the Taliban. China does not see any harm in the Taliban gaining power, and even welcomes the US withdrawal from the region and wants to invest in Afghanistan.
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Stating that China and Pakistan want to speed up talks with Afghanistan, Eslami continued: Iran and Russia have numerous considerations and concerns in this regard and have still made negotiations conditional on some measures.

Common Concerns of Afghanistan’s Neighbors
The university professor said that spread of terrorism and the activities of extremist groups, drug trafficking, influx of refugees and migrants are among the most important common concerns of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries and added: The meeting of the foreign ministers of those countries and its final statement are the result of such common concerns, and they stated that Afghanistan should belong to all its people and those developments are internal issues; no country has the right to intervene in it militarily, its independence and territorial integrity must be recognized and all should help resolve this crisis.
He said Iran, China, Russia and Pakistan have agreed to conditional recognition of the Taliban. They expressed concern over hunger, famine, civil war, and instability, and decided to hold another meeting in Iran in late October.
According to the international affairs analyst, we are now witnessing a give and take between the Taliban and neighboring countries, the Taliban, which has so far carried out only military and guerrilla movements, needs to be recognized. The pace of change has been so rapid that in addition to countries, international organizations and all think tanks and even the Taliban themselves, have been taken by surprise. They do not have the power, knowledge and manpower to run the country; in this situation, they need help.
Eslami explained: Coordination measures taken by Iran, Russia, China and Pakistan can help them a lot. There is definitely no military solution to the Afghan crisis, and the best way is to negotiate and make a deal with the Taliban. The Taliban must accept principles, the constitution must first be drafted and voted on in the presence of all groups, and there must be issues such as separation of powers, democracy and elections, and the recognition of the rights of women and minorities. Then the neighboring countries will recognize them and they will form an inclusive government. This is a win-win situation for the Taliban and its neighbors.
Referring to the internal rifts in the Taliban, he added: Neighboring countries must show the Taliban the right way and explain the situation to them; but their success in this direction depends on several components.
Emphasizing the need for a coherent, coordinated and precise strategy by neighboring countries to formally resolve the crisis in Afghanistan, the professor said: If the positions are only in the form of words and statements, no results will be achieved. In fact, neighboring countries must hold serious negotiations before witnessing crises such as terrorist attacks, border insecurity, and the influx of millions of migrants. Negotiations can prevent those issues, and the negotiations on the sidelines of the Shanghai Summit and the forthcoming negotiations in Tehran should be considered as part of this category of measures.
Meanwhile, Eslami stressed: The longer negotiations with the Taliban is delayed and they are not given a chance, they would no longer see themselves as a government and still consider themselves as a group that represents God and have the duty of implementing what they call Islamic rules, eliminate women completely, call Shiites infidels, and start mass displacements and massacres. No country will suffer this issue as much as Iran, and at the same time, no country will benefit from the proper management of this crisis as much as Iran.
According to this international affairs expert, if the Taliban are taken into consideration, they may try to be a reasonable player and meet expectations. The Taliban now expect to be discussed and even wanted to attend the UN General Assembly. Under this situation, Afghanistan’s neighbors must enter into direct negotiations with them and prior to their recognition, force them to accept principles and even threaten them in some cases.
He continued: Finally, they have created problems for the citizens of Afghanistan. They have caused widespread unemployment in the country, soon hunger, poverty and famine will prevail throughout Afghanistan, and migration will increase. Under such circumstances, what they have introduced as the government is made up of illiterate people which will officially be the embodiment of a bankrupt government.
Eslami emphasized: If we do not enter into negotiations and talks with them; serious security threats will be created and later it takes a lot of time and money to control it. On the other hand, if Iran takes serious action before the crises, it is even possible to invest and export products to that country and take humanitarian action.