UPDATE - India says it will provide ‘material support’ for rehabilitation of returning Afghan refugees

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT FROM AFGHAN FOREIGN MINISTRY

By Ahmad Adil and Islamuddin Sajid

NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD (AA) - India on Wednesday said that it will provide “material support” for the rehabilitation of the returning Afghan refugees.

The announcement came after Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met with acting Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai.

This is the first high-level meeting between India and the Taliban-led interim administration since its return to power in Kabul in August 2021.

Some one million refugees have been repatriated by Pakistan and Iran to Afghanistan since late 2023.

The interim administration has already begun distributing land among the repatriated Afghan refugees, according to Afghan officials.

In a statement, the Indian External Affairs Ministry said: “In response to the request from the Afghan side, India will provide further material support in the first instance to the health sector and for the rehabilitation of refugees.”

The two sides evaluated the ongoing Indian humanitarian assistance programs and it was decided that New Delhi would consider engaging in development projects in the near future, the statement added.

“It was also agreed to promote the use of Chabahar port for supporting trade and commercial activities, including for the purpose of humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan,” it said, adding the Afghan side “underlined its sensitivities to India's security concerns.”

Chabahar Port is being developed by India in southern Iran.

According to the Afghan Foreign Ministry, both sides agreed to enhance trade and diplomatic ties and Muttaqi assured Misri that there will be no threat from Afghanistan to any other country.

"Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi thanked India for their humanitarian assistance and said that Afghanistan wants to enhance its ties with India in different sectors including trade and economy," Hafiz Zia Ahmad, deputy spokesperson of the Afghan Foreign Ministry, said in a statement.

Muttaqi hoped that India will ease the visa process for Afghan businessmen, patients and students.

Last November, an Indian delegation met Afghanistan's acting Defense Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob in Kabul.