Thursday, March 28
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India Reopens Embassy in Kabul; Sends Relief Materials for Quake-hit Afghanistan

The embassy has been maintained by local staff and Taliban officials ever since India left the country last year. Experts see it as India’s game with practicality.

Indian Embassy in Kabul
Indian Embassy in Kabul

KABUL: India has reopened its embassy in Kabul 10 months after it left the Afghan capital in a hurry following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. A “technical team” of officials has also been sent with India’s first consignment of earthquake relief assistance.

Diplomatic pundits see it as a big move by India to cooperate with the Taliban and counter Pakistan and China’s presence in Afghanistan. With the relief material it is sending, India plans to continue its goodwill among the Afghan population.

“In order to closely monitor and coordinate the efforts of various stakeholders for the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance and in continuation of our engagement with the Afghan people, an Indian technical team has reached Kabul today and has been deployed in our Embassy there,” the MEA said in an announcement, citing India’s “historical and civilizational relationship with the Afghan people” as the reason for the decision.

India sent 27 tonnes of emergency relief assistance for the people of Afghanistan who are suffering badly from recent earthquake.

Before the Kabul seize on the 15th of August 2020, India had four consulates and the Kabul embassy in Afghanistan. It was forced to close all its diplomatic offices in the country last year.

India is not the first country to reopen its embassy. 13 others have already done that — Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, European Union and four Central Asian nations.

The Taliban government in Afghanistan is yet to be recognized by the global community. It ousted the democratically elected government of President Ashraf Ghani last year in August. India’s move is seen as a way to keep a check on terrorist groups, drug trade and illegal immigration.

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