Indian team meets Taliban deputy PM in Moscow

ISLAMABAD: An Indian official delegation met Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi with an offer to provide humanitarian aid and to take into concern sensitivities of both the sides.

The offer was first made by Indian Ministry of External Affairs’ joint secretary in charge of the Afghanistan file, JP Singh, during the Moscow format consultations closed-door meeting on Wednesday. It was again reiterated by the Indian diplomat at a separate meeting with senior Taliban leaders.

Singh was accompanied by MEA joint secretary (Eurasia) Adarsh Swaika. India’s offer was first reported by the Twitter account of the Taliban’s official spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, who said that India’s representative was “ready to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan”. After a couple of hours, the Taliban spokesperson tweeted a short statement that the Taliban delegation met Singh on sidelines of Moscow meeting.