Taliban Claims It Strengthened Its Relationships With Some Countries

In an extensive interview conducted on February 25th and posted on militant Islamist websites, the Taliban movement's political bureau leader claimed that the "Emirate" had been very successful in strengthening its regional position and establishing strong ties with several countries.

Sheikh Mu'tasim Agha Jan fell short of mentioning the names of those countries. "It is preferable not to elaborate on these achievements and not to mention the names of these countries with which we have strong ties," said Jan.

He claimed the Taliban was successful in "strengthening" its relationship with a number of countries and "adopting a common strategy to curb the American plans that are based on extending her dominion over Afghanistan and other countries of the region."