Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – March 15, 1995

I woke up before the morning call to prayer and did not sleep again. There is no important matter in the reports. Mr. Emomali Rahmonov, the President of Tajikistan, came. Most of the talk was about the Tajik language and the history of the Tajiks and a little about their economic situation. He complained that I had not traveled to his country. He is very opposed to the government of Uzbekistan and to Afghanistan giving refuge to opponents.

Before him, the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan came. He cited the northern police revolt as the reason for Aliyev's absence and expressed unhappiness about the deadlock of the Karabakh issue. They have neither the power of war nor the tolerance to continue the current situation, and they consider the reason for that to be Russia's support for the Armenians, and the reason for the lack of coordination with Russia to be Russia's expansionist demands such as the request for a military base and presence on the southern borders and not acting unilaterally in the Caspian Sea and so on, and in a way he cites the rejection of these demands as being caused by the will to preserve Iran's resources, and they put us under obligation and expect more support from us.

News came that Ahmad Agha's condition is worsening and if he passes away, the funeral will be tomorrow, and therefore we cannot hold the inauguration ceremony of the Bafq-Bandar Abbas railway. It was decided to postpone the inauguration, but later this decision became shaky.

We went to the Islamabad resort, in the heights overlooking the city. They have built a small building and would take guests there. The journalists were also there. We had a short meeting with the President of Kyrgyzstan and the Deputy President of Kazakhstan. The continuation of the negotiations with the first was deferred to the time of presence in Bandar Abbas. Meanwhile, we raised the doubt about the trip with him, and the second had brought Mr. Nazarbayev's letter and had a message about developing relations.

Two or three times they took pictures of our group. Mrs. Bhutto insisted on a picture. We had an informal meeting. Mr. Rahmonov complained about the lack of attention to the problem of the Tajik conflict, and Mr. Rabbani spoke about the Afghan issue reaching a dead end and introduced the emergence of the Taliban as a new insoluble problem and put the blame for the emergence of the Taliban on Pakistan. The talk was bitter and sharp and Mrs. Bhutto was much offended; because she saw that after all that support during the jihad, today they are indebted.

Mrs. Bhutto also gave a sharp answer and spoke about Pakistan's support in the past and the damages they have suffered in this way, and introduced the Taliban issue as outside Pakistan's will; while accepting that the Taliban studied in Pakistan and became a religious organization. She said they have also acted against Pakistan itself because of the restrictions in the schools, and she criticized Rabbani for not being able to handle the creation of unity and security, and said they expect intervention in their favor and are satisfied with Pakistan's neutrality, and Pakistan is determined not to intervene in Afghanistan, and she said her government's policy is security. Rabbani again considered the power-sharing policy that the Pakistanis had tolerated in the previous peace as the wrong path.

Mr. Demirel made remarks that were generalities and advice, and I, to end the dispute, gave a short speech and said the Afghan problem is internal and the Pakistanis are also interested in preserving their own interests. We must help. I proposed that a task force be formed to find an internal and implementable solution, like ECO or from the neighboring countries of Afghanistan. This same matter was put to discussion and continued until the end of the lunch program.

Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan agreed, and Turkey and Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan said it is better that ECO not go beyond the scope of economic cooperation, but they had no opposition to the cooperation of neighboring countries. Uzbekistan too spoke ambiguously. We had lunch outside the building and under the tent. At the lunch table there were other discussions too.

In one of the discussions, Mr. Rahmonov, in answer to Mrs. Bhutto's interpretation about the rapid and strange events of the region and the Soviet Union and Pakistan, said these are all divine destiny and one cannot overcome God's will. For us, such a view from a former communist was strange. Mrs. Bhutto said part of it is man and part is nature, and I explained to them that the will of human beings is within the framework of divine traditions. Then Mrs. Bhutto asked about Surah al-Falaq (the blowers on knots) and the current customs of the people of Pakistan in tying black thread on hands to protect against jinn. I said this is superstition. One must accept that there are mysterious factors that are effective in our lives, and the command of the Quran is that we seek refuge in God with prayer and think about defense ourselves.

We returned to the residence. New proposals had come from Tehran for the duration of the public mourning and the holiday for the possible death of Ahmad Agha. I rested and wrote today's memoirs up to this hour. I read the reports. The US government has officially opposed the Conoco contract with Iran, and the Alawite revolt in Istanbul, Turkey, and the unconfirmed news of the fall of Farah to the Taliban are noteworthy.

We went to the hotel. The final session was held and everyone's proposal was approved. The agreements were made and signed. The press conference was joint. Only a few questions were raised, one of which I answered.

We went to the Iranian embassy. I met with Mr. Sajid Naqvi, one of the Shia scholars, and also the head of the Jamaat-e Islami, one of the Sunni scholars. Both expressed dissatisfaction with the Pakistani government and satisfaction with Iran's policy. Then I went to the gathering of Sunni and Shia scholars who had come to see me. Two of the scholars gave welcome speeches and the recitation of the Quran and eulogy were performed by the Sunni scholars, and I gave a speech on the advantages of Shia-Sunni unity and spoke about the harms of division. It was translated into Urdu.

I immediately went to the residence. Mr. Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari, the President, came and we went together to the airport. On the way we spoke about the Taliban. They express severe unhappiness about their attribution to Pakistan and do not consider them trustworthy. He gave an account of a caravan passing from Pakistan to Turkmenistan that was unsuccessful due to insecurity and the bad road, and said the name of the Taliban became famous from this same thing, because they recovered the caravan that had been confiscated by bandits for Pakistan.

We flew toward Iran. I slept on the way. At Tehran Airport, an interview was conducted.