India has sent a team of foreign ministry officials to Afghanistan's capital of Kabul for talks with senior members of the ruling Taliban, the ministry said on Thursday, the first such meeting since the chaotic US withdrawal last year.

Poverty and hunger have rocketed in the strife-torn nation since the Islamist militants took power last year after the United States withdrew.

“The Indian team will meet the senior members of the Taliban, and hold discussions on India's humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan,” the ministry said in a statement.

The officials would oversee delivery of humanitarian assistance and visit areas targeted by Indian-backed programmes or projects, it added.

India has donated about 20,000 tonnes of wheat, 13 tonnes of medicines, 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine and winter clothing, with more medicine and foodgrain on the way, it said.

The South Asian nation pulled its officials out of Afghanistan last August and closed its embassy, although New Delhi is keen to retain ties with the country.

Last month the ministry said it had no information on when the embassy would re-open.

Opinion

Editorial

The long wait
23 Feb, 2025

The long wait

THE political process appears to be going nowhere. The PTI seems to have run out of ideas and the rest of the...
Anti-Muslim crimes
23 Feb, 2025

Anti-Muslim crimes

THE surge in Islamophobic assaults in the UK, as reported by the anti-hate crime charity Tell MAMA, is a stark...
Defending freedom
23 Feb, 2025

Defending freedom

THERE was no other choice. Despite assurances of consultations with key stakeholders, the government passed the Peca...
Judiciary in the dock
Updated 22 Feb, 2025

Judiciary in the dock

Recent developments in SC and IHC certainly seem to have lent credibility to perception that judges perceived as a 'threat’ are being sidelined.
Paying taxes
22 Feb, 2025

Paying taxes

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s ‘hard talk’ at a retail business conference on Thursday was long ...
Rules for thee
22 Feb, 2025

Rules for thee

IT was a year ago when, in the tumultuous aftermath of the 2024 elections, the state banned X. Today, it remains...