Men are pictured as Afghanistan's Taliban-controlled central bank seizes a large amount of money in cash and gold from former top government officials, including former vice president Amrullah Saleh, in Afghanistan, in this handout obtained by Reuters on September 15, 2021. Da Afghanistan Bank/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2EQP9O1VED
Representative of India and Taliban met on the sidelines of Moscow format talks here on Wednesday. According to a tweet by Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah, India has agreed to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had already expressed India’s desire to help Afghans with food, medicine and other humanitarian assistance.
Moscow [Russia] : India had earlier called for unhindered access in Afghanistan for humanitarian assistance providers and looked forward to equitable distribution among all ethnic groups. India is expected to route humanitarian aid to Afghanistan through a UN agency. An official spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan also tweeted, “Both sides considered to take into account each other concerns and improve diplomatic and economic relations.” The high-level delegation was led by Abdul Salam Hanafi, Deputy Prime Minister of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the Indian side was represented by JP Singh, joint secretary (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran) at the Ministry of External Affairs. Earlier during opening remarks at Moscow talks, the Russian foreign minister emphasised that it is time for the international community to mobilise and provide Kabul with aid to prevent a humanitarian and refugee crisis. Ten countries including China, Pakistan, India and central Asian countries participated in the talks. India has limited contact with Taliban government representatives in Doha. India has not recognised the Taliban regime and has asserted that a more inclusive and representative government should be formed. New Delhi has also time and again expressed concerns about the use of Afghan soil for anti-India activities backed by Pak spy agency ISI.
