Without naming Pakistan specifically, Rangeen Dadfar Spanta criticizes neighboring countries for tolerating the Taliban bases from which the insurgents infiltrate into Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: The Forgotten War
Audio Interview | Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta
Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, a former Kabul University professor who went into exile during the 1979-89 Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, was named Afghanistan’s foreign minister in May.
He replaced Abdullah Abdullah, the country's envoy since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban.
In an interview at the foreign ministry in Kabul, Spanta criticized “interference from the outside of Afghanistan” as one of the main reasons the Taliban insurgency has gained strength this year. But he did not spare his own country, blaming his own government’s weaknesses, corruption and rampant opium trade as reasons why the Taliban have been able to rebuild.
“It is not enough to combat the symptoms of terror. As important as that is, it is important to try to destroy or liquidate the sources of terror. We know the sources of terrorism are outside Afghan’s border.”
Spanta talks about the fall of the Taliban and its aftermath: WMA version. (1:05)
