In a first, Jaishankar speaks with Taliban minister, thanks him for his rebuttal
Muttaqi sought facilitation in issuing Indian visas for Afghan traders and patients, and called for the release and return of Afghan prisoners held in India
NEW DELHI: India on Thursday welcomed the Afghan Taliban regime’s rejection of attempts to “create distrust” between the two countries during external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s first interaction with Taliban acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
The phone conversation between Jaishankar and Muttaqi built on a meeting between the Taliban foreign minister and foreign secretary Vikram Misri in Dubai in January and came against the backdrop of tensions between India and Pakistan. This was also the highest level of contact between the Indian government and the Taliban since they took over Afghanistan in August 2021.
“Good conversation with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi this evening. Deeply appreciate his condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack,” Jaishankar said in a social media post, referring to the April 22 terror attack that killed 26 civilians and led to India launching Operation Sindoor to target terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan.
“Welcomed his firm rejection of recent attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan through false and baseless reports,” Jaishankar said, in an apparent reference to a report in a section of the Pakistani media that claimed India had “hired” the Taliban to carry out a “false flag” operation at Pahalgam.
Jaishankar said he had emphasised India’s “traditional friendship with the Afghan people and continuing support for their development needs”, and discussed ways of taking cooperation forward.
A readout from the Taliban side said Jaishankar and Muttaqi exchanged views on enhancing bilateral ties, promoting trade and “advancing diplomatic engagement”.
Muttaqi referred to India “as a key regional country and highlighted the historic nature of Afghanistan-India relations”, and expressed optimism that the ties “will grow stronger”.
He reiterated Afghanistan’s commitment to a “balanced foreign policy and the pursuit of constructive relations with all nations”, the readout said.
Muttaqi sought the Indian side’s facilitation in issuing visas for Afghan traders and patients, and called for the release and return of Afghan prisoners currently held in India, the readout said.
The Taliban readout quoted Jaishankar as pointing to India’s historic ties with Afghanistan and underlining the “importance of collaboration in political and economic spheres”.
Jaishankar also assured Muttaqi that prompt attention will be paid to the issue of Afghan prisoners and steps will be taken to streamline the visa process, the readout said.
The Taliban readout further said that both sides emphasised the development of Chabahar port in Iran.
The strategic port, where an Indian state-run company operates a terminal, has been used to ship commercial cargo and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. The Taliban have expressed interest in using the port to ship goods to India and people familiar with the matter said such moves are expected to gain momentum following India’s closure of the only operational land border crossing with Pakistan at Attari, which was being widely used by Afghan traders.
The contact between Jaishankar and Muttaqi also came at a time when relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are at a fresh low over a range of issues. Islamabad has accused the Taliban of failing to rein in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and senior Pakistani leaders have in recent days claimed that India has been using the TTP to target Pakistan. However, they have provided no evidence to support these allegations, which have been rubbished by Indian officials.
