Indian reps to come face-to-face with Taliban leadership at Moscow today

New Delhi, Oct 20: The Indian representatives will come face to face with a delegation of the Taliban today during the talks to be held in Moscow. These talks comes a day after the US pulled out of a meeting of the extended troika which was hosted by Moscow on Tuesday. The special representatives from China, Russia and Pakistan took part in the meeting.

The meeting would bring India face-to-face with the Taliban leadership who have also been invited for the talks. The Taliban had recently taken over Afghanistan following the withdrawal by the US troops.

We have received an invitation for the Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan on October 20. We will be participating in it spokesperson for the external affairs ministry, Arindam Bagchi had said last week.

The MEA would send an officer in the level of the joint-secretary for the meeting. Russian President, Vladimir Putin's special representative on Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov had said that Moscow had invited representatives of the Taliban to the international talks on Afghanistan on October 20.

On October 12, a G20 summit on Afghanistan had been held to help the country overcome the humanitarian crisis, following the Taliban takeover. India had raised questions on the lack of inclusivity by the Taliban and also raised concerns about human rights and rights of the minorities, women and children.