In a major decision, New Delhi on Thursday decided to deploy Indian officials to the Indian mission in Kabul to step up humanitarian efforts in the wake of the earthquake that killed more than 1,000 Afghans outside the city of Khost.
“In order to closely monitor and coordinate the efforts of various stakeholders for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid and to continue our engagement with the Afghan people, an Indian technical team has reached Kabul today and has been stationed at our embassy there. Gone,” he said. A statement was issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday.
An Afghan man sits near his house destroyed by an earthquake in Afghanistan. (Photo: AP)
Read also | Taliban seeks help after earthquake kills 1,000 in Afghanistan
Relief material was flown over Kabul by Ilyushin-76 aircraft of the Indian Air Force. The same aircraft was also used to fly in the technical team. After the Taliban came to power in August last year, all Indian diplomats and staff at the embassy in Kabul were evacuated.
The Indian side has started engaging with the Taliban administration. The recent visit of senior diplomat JP Singh to Kabul paved the way for increased cooperation between the two sides.
Photo: AP
“Recently, another Indian team visited Kabul to oversee the distribution operations of our humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and met senior members of the Taliban. During the visit, the security situation was also assessed,” the statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said.
While India never officially announced the closure of the embassy, the mission was non-functional for more than ten months.
Photo: AP
“Our longstanding ties with Afghan society and our development partnership, including humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan, will continue to guide our vision,” the foreign ministry said.
The Indian Embassy is the 15th foreign mission to have its nationals in Kabul along with Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, the European Union and four Central Asian states.