He stressed in a note that the name, with all its historical load, is now tied to ISIS and those who hate the name Afghanistan and consider "Khorasan" as an alternative are in the minority.
According to him, Khorasan is no longer just a name and today seven countries have been formed from its heart; Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. He added that many people in these countries are not even familiar with the word Khorasan.
Amrullah Saleh also pointed to the existence of two different interpretations of Khorasan; One is historical Khorasan, which is recognized as a common cultural heritage, and the other is a province in the Islamic Republic of Iran that he says is not threatened.
Khorasan was once a large region in northeastern Iran and parts of Central Asia. The name has been applied to different regions throughout history and has existed as an independent province at different stages.
At the end of his note, Amrullah Saleh referred to Ahmad Shah Durrani and wrote that he was the last king to consider himself the heir to Khorasan and that his tomb was written in Persian script: "This is the tomb of the Shah of Khorasan.
Amrullah Saleh, a political figure opposed to the Taliban, says the group has been using the name "Khorasan" for more than a decade and attributes it to part of its caliphate.
Farzana Ahmadi
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