Taliban leaders in Afghanistan host rare official talks with India

Islamabad — 

Afghanistan's Taliban authorities has held talks with India connected improving bilateral ties and seeking accrued humanitarian assistance for the impoverished country, officials reported Thursday.

Jitender Pal Singh, the Indian overseas ministry’s point-person for Afghanistan, led his delegation’s meetings with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and a uncommon enactment with Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob, among others, during the November 4-5 sojourn to Kabul.

“Yes, this was the archetypal gathering with” Yaqoob, Indian media quoted Randhir Jaiswal, the overseas ministry spokesperson, arsenic telling a play quality league successful New Delhi connected Thursday.

Jaiswal stated that “humanitarian assistance from India was the centerpiece of the meetings of JP Singh with Afghan officials.” He added that the Indian delegation besides met with representatives of the United Nations agencies successful Kabul.

The spokesperson discussed the sojourn a time aft Yaqoob’s bureau publically shared details of his gathering with the visiting Indian delegation. It work that “both sides declared their communal tendency to enlarge the bilateral relations … and expressed their involvement successful further reinforcing the interactions betwixt Afghanistan and India.”

Both sides reported that the discussions successful Kabul besides focused connected however the Afghan concern assemblage could entree the India-operated Chabahar larboard successful Iran, which borders landlocked Afghanistan, to summation bilateral trade.

On Thursday, Muttaqi’s bureau released details of his talks with Singh, saying the Taliban main diplomat emphasized the request to amended bilateral governmental and economical relations and sought amended visa facilitation for Afghan businessmen to assistance boost commercialized ties with India.

The Taliban connection quoted Singh arsenic describing New Delhi’s relations with Kabul arsenic historical and “important for his country.” He promised to heighten Indian visa facilities for Afghans, it added.

The de facto Afghan leaders swept backmost to powerfulness successful August 2021, erstwhile the United States and NATO troops near the state aft astir 2 decades of warfare with the then-insurgent Taliban.

The Taliban takeover prompted New Delhi and Western countries to adjacent their embassies successful Kabul and mostly moved their diplomatic missions to Qatar.

No state has formally recognized the Taliban arsenic the morganatic ruler of Afghanistan, but respective neighboring and determination countries, including China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, and Qatar, person retained their embassies. India precocious reopened its diplomatic ngo successful Kabul, manned by low-level diplomats.

The International assemblage has refused to admit the Taliban authorities implicit quality rights violations, peculiarly its restrictions connected Afghan women’s entree to enactment and education.

India’s engagement with the de facto authorities successful Afghanistan is expected to rise apprehensions successful neighboring Pakistan, arsenic noted by analysts.

Kabul’s ties with Islamabad lately person been strained implicit allegations that the Taliban harbor and enactment fugitive anti-Pakistan militants liable for deadly “terrorist” attacks against Pakistani civilians and information forces.

The Pakistani subject reported a caller militant onslaught Thursday successful a territory connected the Afghan border, saying the ensuing clashes killed 4 soldiers and 5 assailants.

Taliban officials person denied Islamabad’s allegations, stating that nary overseas militants are contiguous successful Afghanistan, and nary 1 is allowed to usage their territory to endanger neighboring countries.

Pakistan officially recognized the archetypal Taliban authorities successful Kabul successful the 1990s. It allegedly harbored and supported Taliban leaders, who directed years of insurgent attacks against U.S.-led planetary forces successful Afghanistan aft being dislodged from powerfulness successful precocious 2001.