New Delhi: Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi backed trade through the Chabahar port route and called for opening the India-Pakistan Attari-Wagah border for trade with India. At a press conference in the Afghanistan embassy, following his meeting with external affairs minister S Jaishankar, Muttaqi also announced that the Taliban will appoint diplomats in India.Pakistan does not allow India to export to Afghanistan via the land route, and the Indian govt has used the Chabahar port in Iran for trade and commerce with Afghanistan. The US, however, last month revoked the 2018 sanctions waiver that allowed India to develop the port and access Afghanistan and central Asia, bypassing Pakistan.Muttaqi said trade is meant to benefit people and should not be mixed with politics. “Pakistan and India should open the Wagah border to facilitate trade between Afghanistan and India. It will benefit the people of all three countries,” said Muttaqi, addressing a press conference at the Afghanistan embassy for which no woman journalist was invited. Muttaqi also reiterated Afghanistan’s position that it won’t allow the US to take control of the Bagram airbase, even as it remains open to diplomatic ties with Washington. Indian govt sources later confirmed India had agreed to work with the Taliban to have their diplomats stationed here but added India’s position on formal recognition will remain broadly aligned with that of the international community.Muttaqi addressed the media with a small flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), Taliban’s name for the country, placed on the table. India does not recognise the flag. Muttaqi told reporters the embassy building, which still flies the flag of the erstwhile Islamic Republic, belonged to the IEA. “The appointment of diplomats will be a step towards normalisation and further improvement of ties,” said Muttaqi. The appointment will not be at the ambassador level, in the absence of formal recognition by India. The diplomats appointed by the Taliban will work from the embassy.Asked about women’s rights, a sticking point in the Taliban’s ties with the global community, Muttaqi said all countries have their own customs and these should be respected. He was also non-committal on whether girls or women would be allowed to travel to India for studies.“In the recent earthquake in Afghanistan, India was the first responder. Afghanistan looks at India as a close friend. Afghanistan wants relations based on mutual respect, trade and people-to-people relations. We are ready to create a consultative mechanism of understanding, which helps towards strengthening our relations,” he added.
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