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India’s ambassador to Qatar spoke to a senior Taliban leader on Tuesday (August 31st). The Indian Foreign Ministry has said that this is the first formal diplomatic contact with them since the occupation of Afghanistan.
According to the Indian Express, the Indian Foreign Ministry said that Ambassador Deepak Mittal met with Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai, the head of the Taliban’s political office in Doha, at the request of the Taliban.
According to media reports, the Indian Foreign Ministry said in the meeting that Deepak Mittal also informed Stanikzai of India’s concern that anti-India militants could use Afghan territory for attacks.
According to the Indian Foreign Ministry, the Taliban representative assured the ambassador that these issues would be resolved positively.
The Taliban did not immediately comment on talks with India.
Indian investment in Afghanistan
It is also worth mentioning here that India has invested more than 3 3 billion in development works in Afghanistan. It had close ties with the US-backed Kabul government. But after the Taliban’s rapid advance and occupation of Afghanistan, the Indian government has faced criticism in the country for not opening any communication channels.
According to media reports, informal contacts were established with Taliban political leaders in Doha in June this year.
Who is Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai?
According to Indian officials, Sher Muhammad Abbas was trained as an Afghan officer at the Indian Military Academy in the 1980s. He was approached informally from India last month and told not to close his embassy.
Interestingly, during the Taliban’s previous rule, when they were last in power from 1996-2001, India, along with Russia and Iran, supported the Northern Alliance, which was waging an armed resistance against the Taliban.
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