Indian officials in Kabul for talks on aid distribution

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian foreign ministry officials are visiting Kabul for talks with the Taliban and international organizations involved in the distribution of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. The External Affairs Ministry says India has dispatched wheat, medicines, COVID-19 vaccine and winter clothing to Afghanistan to meet shortages there and plans to send more assistance. India has no diplomatic ties with Afghanistan since the Taliban took over Kabul in August last year, but its diplomats have met Taliban representatives in Doha, Qatar. Before the Taliban took Kabul, India had provided Afghan security forces with training and military equipment but had no troops on the ground. It was also the region’s largest provider of development aid to Afghanistan.