NEW DELHI – In the first such contact since the Taliban took control of thecountry last year, Indian foreign ministry officials held talks with theAfghan government in Kabul on Thursday.
Since the US-led forces left the landlocked country and the Taliban tookover, India has no diplomatic ties with Afghanistan and closed its embassyin Kabul in August last year.
Ahead of the visit, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in astatement the delegation would meet senior members of the Taliban to “holddiscussions on India’s humanitarian assistance to the people ofAfghanistan.”
The ministry said its team would oversee delivery of Indian humanitarianaid and meet representatives of the international organisations involved indistribution, as it had dispatched 20,000 metric tons of wheat and 13 tonsof medicines to Afghanistan.
Repeated economic shocks, political crises, and a series of environmentaldisasters such as drought have left more than 24 million Afghans requiringlife-saving assistance to prevent famine.
On Thursday afternoon, J. P. Singh, the ministry’s joint secretary wholeads the Indian team, met Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir KhanMuttaqi and Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the Taliban foreign ministry’s spokesperson.
After the meeting, Balkhi tweeted they had discussed diplomatic relationsand bilateral trade and that the visit was “a good start between the twocountries.” He also thanked New Delhi for humanitarian assistance.
The Indian delegation is expected to visit the sites where various Indianinvestment programmes have been implemented for the past two decades.
New Delhi spent billions of dollars on infrastructure and humanitarianassistance in Afghanistan after the previous Taliban regime was toppled ina US-led invasion in 2001.
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With over $3 billion invested in Afghanistan on constructing highways,transporting food and building schools and hospitals, India has been thesecond largest donor to the war-battered country after the US.
Amar Sinha, New Delhi’s former ambassador to Afghanistan, says the firstofficial visit since August last year indicates attempts to re-establishties with the country.
“Clearly, India does not wish to be seen as the only one not dealing withAfghanistan. There has to be a clear understanding of the new reality inKabul,” he said. “India, as a neighbour, has immense goodwill for Afghans.”
While Indian diplomats have not officially visited Afghanistan since lastyear, they have met Taliban representatives in Doha, Qatar.
“India feels it’s well located in terms of its history and in terms ofgeography to reach out to Afghanistan and provide some kind of help andalso politically engage with them,” Sanjay Kapoor, analyst and chief editorof the political magazine Hard News, said.
“By engaging with the Taliban, India also recognizes that it will build acountervailing force to Pakistan.”
