TEHRAN — A suicide blast at an education institute in Kabul on Friday morning killed 32 people and wounded 40, police said. Most of the casualties were said to be young women.

The explosion happened inside the education institute in the Dashti Barchi neighborhood of Kabul, said Khalid Zadran, the Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Kabul police chief.

Many of those living in the western area where the blast occurred are Hazara, an ethnic minority frequently targeted by the Daesh militant group.

Iranian officials quickly reacted to the tragic incident, highlighting that the Taliban must step up to ensure security for all Afghan citizens, regardless of their ethnicities. 

Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran's envoy for Afghanistan, said on Twitter that Iran condemns the attack and expects the Taliban to make sure that such attacks won't happen again.

Similarly, Nasser Kanaani, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said Afghanistan’s caretaker government bears the responsibility for ensuring the security of its citizens. He also expressed condolences with the families of the victims and wished the wounded a speedy recovery.

Meanwhile, another blast on Saturday occurred near the Maulana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi Highschool in PD11 of Kabul, security officials told TOLOnews. 

Kabul Police spokesman Khalid Zadran said the blast was due to explosives near the school. 

Zadran said there were no casualties from the blast. However, he did not provide further details. 

Residents said that the sound of the blast was extremely loud.

“I was working here when I heard a rocket sound. When I went out, I saw the kids were running away… There were no wounded,” said Noor Mohammad, a resident of the area.  

“There was a blast. I went out and saw the school students screaming and running away. I saw then that the blast happened on the riverbank,” said Barialai, a resident of the area.  

The blasts come while thus far, the interim governing body of Afghanistan has failed to form an inclusive government consisted of all minorities.

The Taliban administration, which is now ruling Afghanistan, rose to power in August of last year. It has been more than a year since Haibatullah Akhundzada has taken the reign. A year seems more than enough to form an inclusive cabinet. 

Iran and several other countries, both in the West Asian region and beyond the region have called on the Taliban to take into serious consideration the formation of an inclusive government. 

Tehran went so far as to indicate that it will correspond with the interim Taliban governing body based on their behavior. Analysts believe that Iran won’t recognize the Taliban unless it forms an inclusive government with inclusion of all ethnicities. 

Several countries have joined hands with Iran and called on the Taliban administration to speed up the process, a call which has gone unanswered so far.

According to Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Iran’s Foreign Minister, one of the prerequisites for establishing peace and stability in conflict-ridden Afghanistan is the creation of an “inclusive government with the robust involvement of all ethnic groups.”

Iran’s top diplomats made the comments at a webinar on September 12 that was conducted by his New Zealander counterpart, Nanaia Mahuta.

This is merely an example. Over the past year, this position has long been reaffirmed by several Iranian officials. 

On June 26, Iran’s Armed Forces Chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri told Nadeem Reza, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Pakistan Army, that Tehran is concerned about the spread of terrorism in some areas of Afghanistan. 
“Given the situation in Afghanistan, the participation of other ethnic groups will play a constructive role in creating security and stability in the future of this country,” he added. 

Under the Taliban reign, the crisis-hit Afghanistan have seen several blind terrorist acts that have resulted in the killing and wounding of hundreds of Afghans. Since past year, Iran has exercised restraint on Afghanistan and has even extended a helping hand to the battle-scarred country. During the cold winter of last year, Tehran offered free gas to help Afghan citizens. However, it seems that the governing body in Afghanistan is evading its responsibility. 

Despite the Taliban rulers’ claim that they have secured the country since taking power, international officials and analysts say the risk of a rebellion remains.

A former Iranian diplomat said in April that the recurring blasts in Kabul are another proof that the Taliban is incapable of stabilizing Afghanistan.

“This event showed once again that the Taliban is not competent to manage and rule Afghanistan,” Abolfazl Zohrevand, Iran’s former ambassador to Afghanistan, told ISNA.

“We are currently noticing political, economic and security collapse in Afghanistan,” he added. 

The interim governing body also failed to secure diplomatic missions, as protesters in Herat broke the windows and CCTV cameras of the Iranian consulate in April. 

Less than 24 hours later, the director-general of South Asia at the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the charge d'affaires of the Afghan embassy in Tehran to strongly protest against the attacks on the Iranian embassy in Kabul and the consulate in Herat.

Recalling the responsibility of governments in ensuring the security of diplomatic missions, the diplomat called for legal action against the attackers on the Iranian missions in Afghanistan.

At the time, the director-general informed the Afghan chargé d'affaires that the consular sections of Iran’s missions in Afghanistan had ceased their activities until further notice in order to get the necessary assurances from the Afghan Foreign Ministry about the full security of the diplomatic offices.

Amir Abdollahian also stepped in, chastising Afghanistan's leadership for failing to make the required preparations to protect the security of diplomatic missions, which is the obligation of the host country.

Iran has proven to be a good neighbor and friend that helps friends in need. However, an insecure Afghanistan will be detrimental to Tehran and all the neighboring countries. The Taliban administration claims that the international community must recognize them. However, what they don’t take into account is that when they fail to ensure the security of their own citizens, how can they ensure the neighbors’ security? Serious concerns remain regarding the Taliban’s approach to managing border crossings. The neighbors must be assured, as well as the people of Afghanistan. The Taliban must step up and do serious work to ensure its citizens’ security.