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In a first since India pulled-out its nationals from Afghanistan after Taliban take over in August 2021, a delegation of officials from MEA met senior members of the government in Kabul on Thursday the 2nd of June 2022.

Led by joint secretary J P Singh who is also the point person in MEA for Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran (the PIA Division) held talks with Taliban leadership in an attempt to oversee the delivery of operations of humanitarian assistance.

It is a matter of concern for India that instead of 50,000 MT of wheat under the humanitarian assistance programme that was supposed to have been distributed for Afghanistan people, only 20,000 MT had reached Kabul till date.

The Indian delegation which reached Kabul on Thursday met Taliban officials impressing upon them to speed-up the process of aid from New Delhi.

An MEA statement earlier today said the India team will meet Taliban leadership and representatives of the International Organisations involved in the distribution of humanitarian assistance.

“India has historical and civilisational ties with the Afghan people and these longstanding linkages will continue to guide our approach,” the MEA added.

A Taliban spokesperson on Twitter said the Indian team met with leaders of the Islamic group and discussed bilateral trade and humanitarian assistance.

“Today, Maulvi Amir Khan Mottaki, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, met with JP Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs of India and his accompanying delegation. During the meeting, diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and India, bilateral trade and humanitarian assistance were discussed,” Taliban spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said on Twitter.

Besides meeting the Taliban leadership, they also visited Indian projects including the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health (IGICH) in Kabul.