New Delhi has a set of interests when it comes to engaging with the Taliban regime, the United States said on Monday, days after the first-ever Indian delegation visited Kabul since the hardline group took control over Afghanistan last year. "India similarly has a set of interests when it comes to the Taliban. Different countries will engage with the Taliban in different ways. We have a team on the ground in Doha that is responsible for, as appropriate, engaging with the Taliban on our set of interests just as other countries do," Price added. The United States will continue to monitor and take steps to increase pressure on the Taliban government to reverse some of its recent decisions in restricting the rights of women and girls, Price explained.
India has no formal diplomatic ties with the Taliban government, but its envoys have met previously with Taliban representatives in Doha, where they have an office. "The template behind India's engagement with the Taliban is based on India's historic ties with Afghanistan," India's Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi has said.
For the first time since the Taliban's capture of power in Kabul, India has sent a team led by a senior diplomat to Afghanistan to oversee the delivery of its humanitarian aid and meet with senior members of the Taliban.
The team, led by JP Singh, the external affairs ministry's point person for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, will meet the senior members of the Taliban and hold discussions on India's humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan, the ministry said. An Afghan foreign ministry spokesperson said that acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi received Singh and the team and the discussions focused on India-Afghan diplomatic relations, bilateral trade and humanitarian aid.
"A team led by the Joint Secretary (Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), is currently on a visit to Kabul to oversee the delivery operations of our humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan," the MEA said in a statement. At a media briefing, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi asked journalists not to read too much into the visit, saying it is about India's humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.
The MEA said New Delhi's development and humanitarian assistance have received a widespread appreciation across the entire spectrum of Afghan society and the Indian team will meet the "senior members of the Taliban, and hold discussions on India's humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan". India has not yet recognised the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. However, it has been sending aid to the people of Afghanistan to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the country.
