Participated in Taliban-Led Talks in Kabul, Highlighted India’s Humanitarian Aid to Afghans: MEA

External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India participated in a regional meeting organised by the Taliban-led government in Kabul earlier in January where representatives highlighted the humanitarian aid India sent for the people of Afghanistan during the talks held there.

“We participated in (the) regional meet in Kabul, (where we) pointed to India’s humanitarian aid to Afghanistan,” Randhir Jaiswal said during a press briefing on Thursday.

New Delhi does not officially recognise the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan which seized power from the democratically-elected government following US troop withdrawal in August 2021.

The meeting was held to boost regional cooperation and engagement with Afghanistan as international agencies sideline the country for its rules which bar women from studying and working and also does not include minorities in decision making bodies.

The meeting comes shortly before a conference that the UN will host in February there. The meeting which was held in January was attended by the head of the Indian “technical mission” in Kabul.

Chinese, Russian and Iranian envoys were also among the participants.

This was the first international conference the Taliban hosted after seizing power in 2021.

India reopened its embassy in Afghanistan in June 2022 but works with the Taliban dispensation there mostly to distribute humanitarian aid. India, like other countries, is working in Afghanistan without recognising the regime in Kabul.

China, on the other hand, accepted the credentials of the Taliban envoy but stopped short of formally recognising the Taliban regime. India stressed that Kabul must first form an inclusive government and has not fully recognised the regime in Afghanistan. India has also said Afghan soil must not be used for any terrorist activities against any country.

India has supplied several shipments of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. According to government data shared in the Lok Sabha earlier in December, India supplied 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat, 250 tons of medical aid and 28 tons of earthquake relief aid. These consignments were handed over to the United Nations World Food Programme, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health and Afghan Red Crescent Society.