Khatami Urges Islamic World to Take Lead in Afghan

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, August 14, 2002

Khatami Urges Islamic World to Take Lead in Afghan

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami urged Tuesday the Islamic world to take the lead and the international community to play a more active role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

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Khatami Visits Kabul

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami urged Tuesday the Islamic world to take the lead and the international community to play a more active role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Delivering a speech to a gathering of nearly 150 Afghan intellectuals and university professors, the president said security and stability in Afghanistan is not only the hope of Afghan people, but a need of the region and the world as well.

"If the peace plan fails in Afghanistan, insecurity will spread to all the region including Iran and even to the whole world," said Khatami, who arrived here Tuesday for one-day official visit to Afghanistan, the first visit by an Iranian leader in 40 years.

"Achieving peace is a systematic process," he said. "Without political, cultural and tribal peace, the peace will not be long-lasting. The long-lasting peace can only be based on justice."

He told the audience that Iran and Afghanistan shared common language, religion and cultural heritage, and their common desires for independence, liberty and development have brought the two countries closer.

"Iran and Afghanistan are members of one civilized family. During their history, they are kind to each other," he said.

He said that Iran had been and would be the home of Afghan people, and Iranians also took Afghanistan as their homeland.

Recalling the history of Afghanistan, he said that the Afghan people had passed a long and difficult way to achieve their independence.

He stressed that the Taliban regime had done a lot against Islamic rules and damaged the image of Islam around the world.

"There were no rights for Afghan women during Taliban regime, and men also lived a very poor life. Taliban defamed Islam by their activities against humanity. The real Islam means brotherhood and friendship."

On Democracy, the Iranian leader also said democracy could only be realized after independence and freedom were achieved.

Earlier today, Khatami held talks with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai on the reconstruction of the war-torn country and discussed the way of strengthening political, economic and cultural ties between the two countries.

During their joint press conference after their talks, the Iranian president pledged full support to rehabilitation and reconstruction in Afghanistan in various fields, such as education, agriculture and industry.

He accused the United States of its "aggressive policies" after Sept. 11 incident and appealed for mutual understanding between Tehran and Washington.

Khatami, accompanied by vice president, foreign, economic and scientific ministers in his trip to Kabul, will wind up his brief visit and return to Tehran later Tuesday.

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