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In a July 21, 2023 interview with Al-Arabiya Network (Dubai/Saudi Arabia), Afghan Taliban Defense Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, who is the son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar, called upon all the countries that are not "under the thumb" of America to recognize the Taliban government, and he accused the U.S. of invading Afghanistan's airspace with drones in violation of the Doha Agreement. Mujahid said that the Taliban had no information about Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri's whereabouts, and the fact that he was ultimately found in Afghanistan does not indicate that the Taliban is in contact with Al-Qaeda or that it cooperates with it. He also said that ISIS suffered more severe blows in Afghanistan than anywhere else.
Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid: "Most countries do not recognize the Islamic Emirate because of American pressure. The Americans fought here for 20 years and were defeated. Perhaps they need more time to be able to recognize us. We call on all countries that are not under the American thumb, and are capable of recognizing us, to recognize the government of Afghanistan. This serves the interests of all the countries."
Interviewer: "What do you have to say about the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in Kabul? "
Mujahid: "When Osama bin Laden was targeted – did that prove that the government of that county [Pakistan] had Supported him, and had hid him in their country? Such incidents happen in various countries. I know for sure that the leaders of the Islamic Emirate – our government or any governmental department – had no involvement in that incident. We had no information about him. Such incidents happen in many countries, and they do not indicate that we cooperate or are in contact with Al-Qaeda.
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"Al-Qaeda does not exist in Afghanistan. It is impossible to fight an organization that does not exist, dose not control even an inch of Afghan territory, and has no targets on Afghan territory.
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"Iran is our neighbor and we share a long border. We do not want to have problems with Iran or any other country. If the problems are of economic nature, or if these are border problems, or if they are of any other kind, we wish to resolve them, in keeping with the principle of good neighborliness. We do not want to have problems with any country. Unfortunately, we have had border problems with Iran from time to time. These problems were resolved back then. We do not want problems with any neighboring country. Currently, our ties with Iran are normal.
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"The arrival of UAVs to the Afghan airspace constitutes clear American violation of the Doha Agreement.
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"Currently, we do not have the equipment needed to down those UAVs, but even if we did ... Under the current circumstances, we are asking the American side not to repeat this, because this constitutes an invasion and occupation of Afghan airspace.
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"ISIS sows discord in the Islamic nation. This is a barbaric, takfiri, and murderous group. We have been fighting ISIS for years, and they have suffered severe blows in Afghanistan – more than anywhere else. The claim that ISIS has weakened around the world but has grown stronger in Afghanistan – I do not support this claim. ISIS has been brought under control in Afghanistan more than anywhere else.
"We have landed on ISIS severe blows and this organization is disappearing. There is not a single inch of Afghanistan they can live in. If one of them is hiding somewhere and operating in secret... Such a thing can happen in many countries. You can hear in the news how we managed to break them and stop their growth."
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