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India’s top diplomat for Afghanistan meets Taliban ‘foreign minister’
JP Singh, the joint secretary heading the external affairs ministry’s division for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, met Amir Khan Muttaqi on Thursday
NEW DELHI: India’s top diplomat for Afghanistan met Taliban “foreign minister” Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul and discussed relations between the two sides and issues related to economic cooperation, including the use of Chabahar port by Afghan traders.
JP Singh, the joint secretary heading the external affairs ministry’s division for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, met Muttaqi on Thursday, the latest in a series of contacts between Indian officials and Taliban leaders. Like other countries, the Indian side doesn’t formally recognise the Taliban regime in Kabul.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the delegation led by Singh met senior members of Afghan authorities, former president Hamid Karzai, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) officials and members of the Afghan business community.
“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,” he said, referring to the Iranian port where an Indian state-run firm operates a terminal.
Since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021, Indian diplomats have met Taliban leaders in Afghanistan and places such as Doha for discussions. Much of these efforts have been spearheaded by Singh, who is also joint secretary in the external affairs minister’s office.
Jaiswal said a “technical mission” opened by India in Kabul in June 2022 is facilitating and coordinating humanitarian assistance efforts. “India has historical and civilisational ties with the Afghan people and these longstanding linkages will continue to guide our approach,” he added.
A Taliban spokesman claimed Muttaqi and Singh discussed Afghanistan-India relations, economic and transit matters, fighting the Islamic State-Khorasan province and tackling corruption.
While thanking India for its humanitarian assistance, Muttaqi said that in line with the Taliban’s “balanced foreign policy”, the regime in Kabul “seeks to strengthen political [and] economic relations with India as an important actor in the region”.
Muttaqi also asked Singh to facilitate the issuance of visas to Afghan businessmen, medical patients and students.
The Taliban spokesman quoted Singh as saying that India is interested in expanding political and economic cooperation with Afghanistan and enhancing trade via Iran’s Chabahar port.
Taliban ‘trade minister’ Nooruddin Azizi also met Singh and discussed the development of economic cooperation, transit and trade.
Karzai, one of the few top Afghan politicians who have not fled from the country, said in a post on X that he had discussed issues related to Afghanistan and the region with Singh. While referring to the historical and good relations between the two sides, Karzai thanked the Indian side for its help and cooperation, especially in education.
India has supplied close to 50,000 tonnes of wheat, medicines, Covid-19 vaccines and other relief materials to Afghanistan in recent months. However, the Indian side has not resumed work on development and infrastructure projects it had launched before the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
Read here: The Taliban hold another public execution as thousands watch at a stadium in northern Afghanistan
Before the collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government in 2021, India pledged more than $3 billion in development assistance for Afghanistan. The Indian side has been reluctant to provide further assistance because of concerns about the diversion of funds and lack of any mechanism to monitor the use of the aid.
The outlay for foreign countries in India’s budget for 2024-25 included an allocation of ₹200 crore for Afghanistan.
