NEW DELHI: In the first political contact between India and the Taliban, external affairs minister S Jaishankar spoke to the acting Afghan foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, deeply appreciating the latter’s strong condemnation of the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack.
The dramatic improvement in India’s ties with the Taliban in the past few years was on full display during the events that followed the attack, including India’s Operation Sindoor against Pakistani terrorist camps, as Kabul strongly denied Pakistan Army’s claims that India fired missiles at Afghanistan and, in a meeting with Indian officials on April 28, called for bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Jaishankar said in a post on X he welcomed Muttaqi’s firm rejection of recent attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan through false and baseless reports. “Underlined our traditional friendship with the Afghan people and continuing support for their development needs. Discussed ways and means of taking cooperation forward,’’ said the minister. In its condemnation of the Pahalgam attack, the Taliban had said such incidents undermined efforts to ensure regional security and stability.
In another attempt to sow discord between India and the Taliban, there was also a whispering campaign launched to link the Taliban with the Pahalgam attack. Close ties with Afghanistan are important for India also to deny Pakistan the so-called strategic depth it has always sought from the country in the event of a military conflict with India.
India doesn’t formally recognise the Taliban regime in Kabul but senior foreign ministry officials have been regularly visiting the country since India reopened its embassy and deployed a technical team to oversee India’s aid distribution to Afghanistan. The embassy had been shut after the return of the Taliban to Kabul in August 2021. There was a dramatic upgrade in ties, even without formal recognition, in January this year as foreign secretary Vikram Misri visited Dubai for a meeting with Muttaqi.
Muttaqi has been pressing India for more visas to Afghan businessmen and patients, a demand he reiterated in the talks with Jaishankar along with the release and return of Afghan prisoners in India. Jaishankar was said to have assured prompt attention to the issue of Afghan prisoners and to have pledged to streamline the visa process.
India had said recently it’s considering resuming work on Indian projects in Afghanistan and also looking at launching new infrastructure projects.
According to an Afghan readout, Muttaqi focused on enhancing trade and diplomatic ties with India and stressed the development of the strategic Chabahar port in Iran. The port allows Afghanistan options for expanding trade and connectivity, while reducing its dependency on Pakistan.
Referring to India as a key regional country, he expressed optimism that these ties will grow stronger and underlined Afghanistan’s commitment to a “balanced foreign policy and the pursuit of constructive relations with all nations”.
“In the conversation, FM Muttaqi requested facilitation in issuing visas for Afghan traders and patients, and called for the release and return of Afghan prisoners currently held in India,’’ said the readout.
According to Kabul, Jaishankar echoed Muttaqi’s view that India shares historic ties with Afghanistan and reaffirmed India’s intention to continue its cooperation with the country. He underlined the importance of collaboration in political and economic spheres.