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Discussed aid, use of Chabahar port in Iran, says MEA on talks with Taliban
JP Singh, who was on his second visit to Kabul this year, has held several meetings with acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaki in recent years
NEW DELHI: The use of the Indian terminal at Iran’s Chabahar port for exports and humanitarian aid for the Afghan people were among the issues discussed at meetings between an Indian delegation and Taliban leaders in Kabul this week, the external affairs ministry said on Thursday.
A delegation led by JP Singh, joint secretary of the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran division of the external affairs ministry, met the Taliban’s acting defence minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaki and former president Hamid Karzai during the visit to Kabul.
This was the first publicly acknowledged meeting between Yaqoob, the son of Taliban founder and late supreme leader Mullah Omar, and a senior Indian official since the fall of the Afghan government led by Ashraf Ghani in August 2021. Singh, who was on his second visit to Kabul this year, has held several meetings with Muttaki in recent years.
The Indian delegation and the Taliban leaders had discussions on India’s humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people and “how the Chabahar port can be utilised by the business community in Afghanistan for transactions, for export and import and any other thing they would like to do”, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a regular media briefing.
An Indian state-run company operates a terminal at Chabahar port, which has been used in recent years for the trans-shipment of goods to Afghanistan. Singh has been closely linked to India’s efforts to develop the terminal, including the installation of cranes to enhance its capacity.
Jaiswal said the delegation led by Singh also met heads of United Nations agencies and other senior officials while in Kabul on November 4-5. “Providing humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan is an important part of our assistance programme,” he said.
India has sent several shipments of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in recent years, including 50,000 tonnes of wheat, 40,000 litres of Malathion pesticide, 30 tonnes of medicines, and 28 tonnes of earthquake relief aid.
“We have long-standing ties with the people of Afghanistan and these ties will continue to guide our approach towards the country,” Jaiswal said.
Like most other countries, India hasn’t formally recognised the Taliban regime in Kabul.
After pulling out all its diplomats following the Taliban takeover, India re-established an official presence in the Afghan capital by reopening its mission and deploying a “technical team” in June 2022. Since then, the Indian side has engaged the Taliban leadership both in Kabul and in third countries.
