Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Taliban opens diplomatic channels with India

Taliban opens diplomatic channels with India

INDIA’S ambassador to Qatar held talks with a top Taliban leader on Tuesday (31), the Indian foreign ministry said, the first formal diplomatic engagement since the hardline Islamist group took over Afghanistan.

The envoy, Deepak Mittal, met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the head of the Taliban’s political office in Doha, at the request of the Taliban, the foreign ministry said.


India has long had concerns about the Taliban because of the group's close ties with Pakistan. The foreign ministry said the two sides discussed the safety of Indians left behind in Afghanistan.

Mittal also conveyed India's fears that anti-India militants could use Afghanistan's soil to mount attacks, the foreign ministry said.

"The Taliban representative assured the ambassador that these issues would be positively addressed," the foreign ministry said.

The talks come days after Stanekzai was quoted in the local press as saying the Taliban wanted political and economic ties with India.

There was no immediate comment from the Taliban on the talks with the Indians.

Meanwhile, it is understood that a group comprising India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar, national security advisor Ajit Doval and other senior officials is focusing on India's immediate priorities in Afghanistan.

Official sources said on Tuesday (31) the group met regularly in the past few days following a direction from prime minister Narendra Modi.

India's immediate priorities have been the safe return of the Indians still in Afghanistan, bringing back the Afghan nationals who stood by New Delhi, and ensuring that Afghan soil is not used for terrorism directed at India, the sources added.

The sources also said the Indian group has also been monitoring the ground situation in Afghanistan and international reactions.

India has been in touch with all major regional players including those in the Gulf region on the developments in Afghanistan.

The UN Security Council, under India's presidency, on Monday (30) adopted a resolution demanding that the territory of Afghanistan not be used to threaten any country or shelter terrorists.

There have been mounting concerns in India over the possibility of rise in activities of various terror groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

India is adopting a wait and watch approach to see whether the new leadership in Afghanistan will be solely led by the Taliban or include a power-sharing arrangement with other Afghan leaders.

India has invested more than $3 billion (£2.1 bn) in development work in Afghanistan and had built close ties with the US-backed Kabul government. But with the rapid advance of the Taliban, the Indian government was facing criticism at home for not opening a channel of communication to the militants.

In June, informal contacts were established with Taliban political leaders in Doha, government sources said.

The big fear is that militant groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir will become emboldened with the victory of the Taliban over foreign forces, one of the sources said.

"Ambassador Mittal raised India’s concern that Afghanistan’s soil should not be used for anti-Indian activities and terrorism in any manner," the foreign ministry said.

When the Taliban were last in power from 1996-2001, India along with Russia and Iran supported the Northern Alliance that pursued armed resistance against them.

Stanekzai, who Indian officials say received training in an Indian military academy as an Afghan officer in the 1980s, had informally reached out to India last month, asking it not to shut down its embassy, the source said.

More For You

Fathers over 60 help 'reverse UK birthrate decline'

Photo for representation (Photo: iStock)

Fathers over 60 help 'reverse UK birthrate decline'

THE UK has recorded its first increase in births since 2021, with a notable rise in babies born to fathers over 60 helping to lift the numbers, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In 2024, there were 594,677 live births in England and Wales, up 0.6 per cent from the previous year. While this is a modest increase, it marks a change after several years of decline.

Keep ReadingShow less
Quad-leaders

The foreign ministers of the Quad — India, the US, Australia and Japan — met in Washington DC on Tuesday to outline priorities for the bloc’s annual summit to be held in India later this year. (Photo credit: X/@DrSJaishankar)

X/@DrSJaishankar

Quad condemns Pahalgam attack, flags China’s actions and Myanmar crisis

THE QUAD grouping has called for the perpetrators, organisers and financiers of the Pahalgam terror attack to be brought to justice without delay. The group also urged all UN member states to cooperate in the process.

The foreign ministers of the Quad — India, the US, Australia and Japan — met in Washington DC on Tuesday to outline priorities for the bloc’s annual summit to be held in India later this year.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Preventable' grid failure caused Heathrow fire, says report

FILE PHOTO: Airplanes remain parked on the tarmac at Heathrow International. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

'Preventable' grid failure caused Heathrow fire, says report

A FIRE that shut London's Heathrow airport in March, stranding thousands of people, was caused by the UK power grid's failure to maintain an electricity substation, an official report said on Wednesday (2), prompting the energy watchdog to open a probe.

The closure of Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, cost airlines tens of millions of pounds. It also raised questions about the resilience of Britain's infrastructure.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tributes paid to Asian mum who died in Leicester attack

Leicestershire Police

Tributes paid to Asian mum who died in Leicester attack

TRIBUTES have poured in for a 'kind-hearted' mother who tragically lost her life last week after being attacked in Leicester.

Nila Patel, 56, a British Indian woman described as a "beautiful, vibrant soul," died in hospital two days after suffering a head injury during an assault on Aylestone Road.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pakistan IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters

Sri Lanka to receive USD 350 million as IMF completes fourth review

THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF) has completed the fourth review of Sri Lanka’s USD 2.9 billion bailout programme, allowing the country to access the next tranche of USD 350 million from the four-year facility.

The IMF had approved the nearly USD 3 billion bailout in March 2023 to support Sri Lanka’s efforts to restore macroeconomic stability, including fiscal and debt sustainability, during an unprecedented economic crisis.

Keep ReadingShow less