Taliban members meet and deliver speeches to Herat’s government after the end of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, in Herat (Afghanistan) on August 31, 2021.
Mir Ahmad Firooz Mashoof | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
India on Tuesday announced its first formal diplomatic meeting with the Taliban: its first official talks since the group seized power in Afghanistan as the U.S. withdrew its forces from there.
India’s foreign ministry said India’s ambassador to Qatar, Deepak Mittal, met with the head of the Taliban’s political office, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai. The Taliban had requested the meeting, which took place at the Indian embassy in Doha, according to the ministry.
Mittal and Stanikzai discussed the security, safety and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan, as well as travel prospects for Afghan minorities who want to visit India, the ministry said. External Affairs.
The Indian ambassador also raised New Delhi concerns about the use of Afghanistan as a base for terrorism.
“The Taliban representative assured the ambassador that these issues would be dealt with positively,” the foreign ministry said.
Days before Tuesday’s meeting, Indian media reported that Stanikzai said the Taliban wanted to continue Afghanistan’s political, economic and cultural ties with India. It was reportedly the first time a member of the Taliban leadership had spoken of the future of India-Afghanistan relations since the group captured Kabul.
The Taliban’s return to power would likely affect Afghanistan’s neighbors, amid growing concerns about regional instability, refugee inflows, and the possibility of Afghanistan once again becoming a haven for terrorist activities.
New Delhi had no diplomatic relations with the Taliban when they last came to power in the 1990s, in part because of the militant group’s ties to Pakistan.
But India had established close relations with the U.S.-backed civilian government in Kabul for the past two decades and provided development aid to Afghanistan. Reports said India has invested $ 3 billion in multiple infrastructure and trade projects and has undertaken more than 400 projects in Afghanistan.
Analysts say India’s commitments and the recent change of power have left New Delhi in a tough strategic state.
India reportedly made efforts in June to engage with the Taliban as the U.S. withdrawal period ended. China has also stepped up its diplomatic efforts to engage with the Islamist group.