India’s developmental and humanitarian assistance has received widespread appreciation in Afghanistan, including from the Taliban leadership, which has noted the importance of maintaining ties with New Delhi
NEW DELHI: India has sent a team, led by the external affairs ministry’s point person on Afghanistan, to Kabul for meetings with senior members of the Taliban and to oversee humanitarian relief efforts, the first such visit since the collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government last August.
India, like other countries, has not recognised the Taliban setup in Afghanistan, though there have been both back channel contacts and meetings with the group in neutral venues such as the United Arab Emirates. India ended its diplomatic presence in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover and evacuated thousands of nationals from the war-torn country in civilian and military flights.
The team, led by joint secretary JP Singh, who heads the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran desk in the external affairs ministry, will “meet the senior members of the Taliban and hold discussions on India’s humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan” while in Kabul, the ministry said in a statement.
The team will oversee the delivery of India’s humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and meet representatives of international organisations involved in the distribution of aid. The team is also expected to visit various places where Indian programmes and projects are being implemented.
People familiar with the matter said the visit, which was not announced in advance, will be short in duration and didn’t materialise “out of the blue” – an indication that considerable planning had gone into the effort. It is understood that the Taliban have provided security guarantees for travel by the Indian team.
It was not immediately clear which Taliban leaders the Indian team will meet, or the locations it will visit to see India-backed development projects.
Former ambassador Vivek Katju, who served as the Indian envoy to Kabul during 2002-05, welcomed the visit by the Indian team. “At long last, we have taken a sensible step. I hope this will lead to a permanent Indian presence in Kabul at a suitable level,” he said.
