India starts talks with Taliban government

India initiated talks with the Taliban militants, the Indian foreign ministry said, which marks the first formal diplomatic engagement since the hardline Islamist group took over Afghanistan.

Indian 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.

The foreign ministry added that the two sides discussed the safety of Indians left behind in Afghanistan and the Indian envoy also conveyed India’s fears that anti-India militants could use Afghanistan’s soil to mount attacks.

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