An Indian delegation met Afghanistan’s interim defence minister Mawlavi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, the son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar, in Kabul on Wednesday, expanding Delhi’s contacts with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which India and much of the world have not yet recognised.

A key subject of discussion was how the Chabahar port in Iran can be used by businesses in land-locked Afghanistan to import and export.

The Indian delegation was led by J.P. Singh, the joint secretary in charge of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran in the external affairs ministry. India kept the visit on Monday and Tuesday under wraps, and word of the meeting was broken by the Afghan defence ministry late on Wednesday night in a post on X.

The ministry said: “Both sides declared their common desire to enlarge the bilateral relations, chiefly, in the scopes of humanitarian cooperation along with other issues, and expressed their interest in further reinforcing of the interactions between Afghanistan and India.”

This was the first time Singh, who has emerged as India’s point person on Afghanistan, met Yaqoob, who is also the second deputy leader of Afghanistan.

Asked about the visit at the weekly briefing on Thursday, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that this was the first time an Indian official had met Yaqoob since the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021.

Asked why India was making such official trips to Afghanistan when Delhi has not recognised the Taliban government, Jaiswal replied: “We have longstanding ties with the people of Afghanistan and these ties will continue to guide our approach towards the country.”

Jaiswal said the delegation met with several Afghan ministers, including the acting defence minister and former President Hamid Karzai.