The Second Vice President Mohammad Sarwar Danish addressed at a gathering marking Afghanistan’s Constitution founding 16 years ago and said Iran’s Qassem Soleimani was a “prominent anti-Daesh figure in the region” and his death will create a “complicated” political and security situation in the region and the Middle East.
He said that there is a need for “calm” over the matter from all sides.
“Sardar Soleimani was a prominent figure in anti-Daesh efforts in the region,” he said. “No doubt, rude acts, acts outside of international law, will--under any circumstances--further worsen the situation and distance us from peace and stability in the region and the world, and will increase the tension.”
He said peace in Afghanistan is connected with peace in the region.
“We feel regret and concern--we call for calm on all sides. We assure all countries, far and near, especially Afghanistan’s neighbors, that Afghanistan will not be used against the interests of any country.”
Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, leader of the foreign wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed in an airstrike by the US in Baghdad on Friday morning.
Another Afghan politician, Mohammad Mohaqiq, who heads the Wahda-e-Islami party, in a statement late on Friday condemned the killing of Soleimani and said his death is an irreparable loss as he was a “key figure in fighting international terrorism and extremism, al Qaeda and Daesh.”
He said that his party sends their condolences to the people and the government of Iran over Soleimani’s death and added that his party is not in favor of an international standoff, or tension in the region.