Kabul/New Delhi, June 2 (UNI) In India’s first major outreach to the Taliban, a team of senior MEA officials today visited Kabul and held talks with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, in discussions that focused on diplomatic ties with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, bilateral trade and humanitarian assistance.
While the MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi was hard put in saying that the visit of the team, led by JP Singh, Joint Secretary in the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran desk, should not be seen as anything other than a visit to oversee delivery of humanitarian assistance, the Taliban clearly stated otherwise.
Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the spokesperson of the Taliban foreign ministry, in a series of tweets, said that “The Indian delegation said they sought positive relations with Afghanistan as in the past”.