India is engaged with the Afghan Taliban, says MEA

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that India has been engaged with several stakeholders including regional countries to ensure peace prevails in war-torn Afghanistan.

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that India has been engaged with several stakeholders including regional countries to ensure peace prevails in the war-torn country of Afghanistan. Addressing a virtual press briefing, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "Our relations with Afghanistan are historical and multifaceted. We have been engaging with Afghans across ethnicities".

This latest development comes following a report that suggests India has opened communication channels with Afghan Taliban factions including Mullah Baradar amid the talks of US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The move marks a significant shift from New Delhi's position of not engaging with the Afghan Taliban as key world powers are now veering to the position that the Afghan Taliban will play some part in future of the country.

The outreach is largely being led by Indian security officials and has been limited to Afghan Taliban factions and leaders that are perceived as being "nationalist" or outside the sphere of influence of Pakistan and Iran. The outreach has been underway for some months, though it continues to be exploratory. The outreach to Mullah Baradar is significant as he signed the deal with then US secretary of state Mike Pompeo in February 2020 that paved the way for the current withdrawal of American troops.

In response to a query on India reaching out to Afghan Taliban factions, MEA spokesperson said on Thursday, "As a friendly neighbour, we are concern about peace and security in Afghanistan and the region. We support all peace initiatives and have been engaged with several stakeholders including regional countries. We are in touch with various stakeholders as I said in pursuance of our long term development and reconstruction of Afghanistan".

"As you are aware EAM participated in the inaugural ceremony of Intra-Afghan talks held in Doha last year. In the recent past, we have had visits by multiple Afghan leaders to India. We also had official visits to Kabul", the spokesperson reiterated.

India is the largest regional contributor to Afghanistan's reconstruction and development efforts with pledges of $3 billion but has lagged behind other regional players such as Russia, China and Iran in establishing contacts with the Taliban, largely because of the group’s long-standing links with the Pakistani military establishment.