ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: Iran has welcomed Pakistan’s decision to set free Taliban detainees for aiding the reconciliation process in Afghanistan.

“If some groups are ready for peace then they should be engaged in dialogue,” Iranian Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Ramin Mehmanparast, who is visiting Pakistan, said in response to a question about the possibility of the move ruffling feathers in Tehran. Pakistan’s support for Taliban remained a source of tension between the two countries during the Taliban regime.

Pakistan released a batch of mid-ranking Taliban in mid-November during the visit of Afghan High Peace Council delegation and later committed to freeing more detainees when Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul came on a daylong visit to Islamabad.

Pakistani authorities also promised to facilitate contacts between the Peace Council and Taliban leaders living in Pakistan.

Mr Mehmanparast’s assertion while talking to Dawn at Iran Embassy was a clear sign of the softening of Iran’s position towards its former arch-rivals --- the Taliban militants, who in 1998 murdered nine Iranian diplomats in Mazar-i-Sharif.

The senior Iranian diplomat contended that some elements within Taliban were now opposed to terrorism.

Iran had been reaching out to the Taliban for over a year now, but a perceptible shift in their stance towards the militant group came in May this year after Tehran failed to dissuade Karzai government from signing strategic partnership agreement with the US that allows for presence of American troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014.

“If the government and people of Afghanistan can bring about peace there, then they should be helped in dialogue,” he said.

Analysts say Pakistani strategists are now quite concerned about the militant group being infiltrated by the Iranians.

Mr Mehmanparast said a regional solution for the situation in Afghanistan was needed with Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan cooperating more closely.

“We need to have enhanced bilateral and trilateral cooperation to solve our problems. Western countries should leave this region.”

Discussing the controversy surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme, the Iranian diplomat said it was a political issue and not a technical one. “If they have technical concerns we are ready to address them, if they say we don’t have right to develop peaceful civilian nuclear programme, we can debate over that,” Mr Mehmanparast said.

He looked optimistic about the upcoming IAEA mission’s visit to Iran next week (December 13) saying it would lead to finalising modalities for diplomatically solving the issue.

BARTER TRADE: Export of Pakistani wheat to Iran under a barter arrangement would begin later this month.

“The first consignment of Pakistani wheat would reach Iran before the end of this month,” the diplomat said.

Iran would barter one million tons of wheat with iron ore and fertiliser. Almost 0.9 million tons would be obtained from the private companies, while the government would barter only 0.1 million tons from its reserves.