New Delhi holds talks with Taliban government

India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met the Afghan Taliban’s acting foreign minister, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, in Dubai on Wednesday to discuss strengthening ties in areas such as humanitarian aid, trade, regional security, and key development projects, according to an official statement. 

The two nations discussed India’s ongoing humanitarian assistance program, while New Delhi said it would provide further material support, primarily to the healthcare sector and for the rehabilitation of refugees.

Over the past few years, New Delhi has already sent numerous shipments of aid, including 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat, 300 tonnes of medicine, 100 million polio vaccine doses, and 1.5 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to the Foreign Ministry. Sports, in particular cricket, which is very popular in both countries, featured in the talks, with both sides agreeing to strengthen sporting ties and boost collaboration. 

“Foreign Secretary underlined India’s historic friendship with the Afghan people and the strong people to people contacts between the two countries. In this context, he conveyed India’s readiness to respond to the urgent developmental needs of the Afghan people,” the Indian official statement said. 

The Afghan side acknowledged India’s regional security concerns and pledged cooperation, the statement said. Officials also discussed the India-backed development of Chabahar Port in Iran, a key link in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) connecting India with Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Russia. 

Although India and Afghanistan share a land border, it has been effectively cut off by Pakistan since 1947. The INSTC would allow New Delhi to ship its goods to Eurasian markets bypassing its neighbor, ties with which have been particularly strained in recent years.  

The meeting in Dubai comes days after Pakistan conducted airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, killing at least 46 people, including women and children. The attack, which Islamabad claimed was aimed against a terrorist outfit, was “unequivocally” condemned by the Indian Foreign Ministry.  

The talks mark New Delhi’s first high-level official engagement with the Taliban since their return to power in Afghanistan amid the chaotic withdrawal of US forces in 2021. India has not officially recognized the Taliban, but instances of engagement have continued, as New Delhi has adopted a pragmatic approach in an effort to protect its interests in the region.  

Sikhs and Hindus, who trace their origins to India, historically represented about 1% of Afghanistan’s population. However, many were displaced during the 1970s and 1980s due to political instability and the Soviet-Afghan war. A significant number of Sikhs and Hindus also fled Afghanistan after the Taliban’s overthrow of President Ashraf Ghani’s government. Last year, the Taliban promised to return properties “usurped by warlords during the former regime” to Hindus and Sikhs, who were displaced during the prolonged conflict, The Hindu newspaper reported, citing a senior official of the Islamist group.