TEHRAN – Taking a swipe at the U.S. and NATO for wreaking destruction and bloodshed on Afghanistan, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has called on the Taliban to push for the formation of a broad-based government including all ethnic groups. In a meeting with chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of Pakistan General Nadeem Raza here, President Raisi said two decades of presence of U.S. and NATO forces in neighboring Afghanistan resulted in nothing but massacre and destruction.

Raisi also praised the Pakistani government and army for improving the security conditions along the common border with Iran.
“The good relations between the armed forces of the two countries have created the grounds for relatively appropriate security conditions at the borders of the two countries,” he said.
For his part, the Pakistani general hailed Iran as a cordial friend of Pakistan. He also described the diplomatic visits that the Pakistani officials have paid to Iran during the past month as a testimony to Islamabad’s willingness to broaden ties with Tehran.