NEW DELHI, Aug 31: India has held the first officially confirmed meeting with the Taliban. It was conducted between Indian Ambassador to Qatar Deepak Mittal and Sher Mohammed Stanekzai, head of the Political Office of the Taliban based in Doha.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a press release said the meeting was held in the Embassy of India in Doha. Stanekzai, an ethnic Pashtun, was trained as an officer of the Afghan army in India during the Cold War years.
He issued a statement three days ago seeking normal political, commercial and diplomatic relation with India. India had remained silent to the overture initially but held the meeting hours after the U.S. completed the military evacuation from Kabul. India has maintained that it has maintained contact with “all stakeholders” but this is the first time that the meeting has been confirmed and announced.
Sources said India was focused on ensuring the safety of those individuals who wished to come to India but could not do so as the Taliban denied them permission to leave Kabul.
(Manas Dasgupta)