Indian diplomat met ‘Afghan authorities’ in Kabul, says govt.
A senior Indian diplomat has met with “Afghan authorities” in Kabul, the External Affairs Ministry confirmed on Friday.
The development came months after the Embassy of Afghanistan here, which was earlier run by officials with affiliation to the preTaliban government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, was shut down and the consular responsibilities were taken over by Afghan officials who are considered to be proTaliban.
“An Indian delegation led by Joint Secretary (PAI), Ministry of External Affairs is on a visit to Afghanistan... During the visit, the delegation held meetings with senior members of the Afghan authorities. The delegation held discussions on India’s humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan and also discussed the use of Chabahar port by Afghan traders,” said Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
J.P. Singh, the official incharge of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran — PAIrelated issues, met Taliban’s Foreign Affairs incharge Amir Khan Muttaqi on Thursday.
Mr. Singh had visited Kabul in 2022 as India had begun making the first moves to reconnect with Afghanistan, after the violent overthrow of the Ashraf Ghani government in 2021. That visit was followed by renewed delivery of humanitarian assistance to the country.
On Thursday, Taliban’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi was the first to announce that Mr. Singh had met with “Foreign Minister”.
“Mr. Muttaqi expressed gratitude for the recent Indian humanitarian and medical assistance to Afghanistan, stressing the resumption of projects by India, their diplomatic presence in Afghanistan and the provision of consular services to Afghans, particularly Afghan students and patients,” Mr. Balkhi said in a social media post.