Indian and Afghan officials meet again despite lack of formal diplomatic ties

NEW DELHI (AP) — A top Indian foreign ministry official met with Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister on Wednesday as the countries without formal diplomatic ties met for the second time in two months on practical matters like business and humanitarian aid.

India’s foreign ministry said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met with acting Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi during a visit to the United Arab Emirates.

India’s statement said Misri conveyed India’s readiness to respond to Afghanistan’s urgent humanitarian and development needs. It said they also discussed how the Afghan business community could use the Chabahar port in Iran for the import and export of goods involving India.

In November, an Indian delegation led by J P Singh, a joint foreign ministry secretary in charge of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, visited Kabul and met with acting Defense Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid and other ministers. He also met former President Hamid Karzai and the heads of UN agencies.

Since the fall of Afghanistan in 2021 as U.S. and other troops withdrew, no country has recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. India says it will be guided by the United Nations on the issue.

Wednesday’s meeting came amid rising tensions between Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, which last week launched an operation to destroy a training facility and kill insurgents in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province. The strikes killed dozens of people, primarily women and children.

Islamabad often claims that the Pakistani Taliban use Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan, a charge Kabul has denied. Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said Saturday its forces hit several areas inside Pakistan in