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.
Mr. Stanekzai, an ethnic Pashtun, was trained as an officer of
the Afghan army during the Cold War years.
He issued a
statement three days ago seeking normal commercial, diplomatic and political
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.
Reviewed by Tech Mine
on
August 31, 2021
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