KABUL (PAN): The National Participation Front (NPF) head on Sunday accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guards of plotting to assassination him, but the Iranian embassy in Kabul dismissed the claims as baseless.   

Over the past three years, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards had tried several times to terrorise him, NPF chief Najibullah Kabuli told a news conference in Kabul.  “The National Directorate of Security (NDS) has informed me not to attend my office for some days because my life is in danger.”

A former legislator and owner of a Kabul-based private TV channel, he alleged seven men tasked with killing him by the revolutionary guards had been detained by intelligence operatives last solar year. He added 400 kilograms of explosives, 23 missiles, 100,000 euros and two motorbikes had been seized from the detainees.

The former lawmaker said the guards had been after him for leading several anti-Iran rallies last year in Afghanistan’s capital.  Although cases against the detainees were in a court of the 3rd police district, the Iranian embassy and some elements inside the government were trying to ensure their release, he continued.

Without naming anyone, he said: “Any incident taking place is shared with the media. But the cases against the seven people who plotted at attack me are still being kept secret from media outlets.”  

The documents he submitted to Pajhwok Afghan News quote the detainees as saying that they had been tasked by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards senior officers -- identified as Haji Mohsen, Hujjat, Aqa-i-Hussaini and Abdulhai -- for targetting Kabuli.

With the case against the detainees referred to the primary court, no decision has so far been taken.  A deal was underway to release the attackers, he claimed, asking the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and human rights watchdogs to ensure a fair trial of the accused.

But the Iranian embassy spokesman, Mohammad Dihqani, rejected the claim as baseless.  “Kabuli’s remarks are aimed at winning fame. It will be better for him to seek other ways of becoming popular.”

Asked for comments, NDS spokesman Lotfullah Mashal said he could neither confirm nor deny the arrest of the seven individuals with alleged links to the Iranian guards.

mm/mud