India and Pakistan special envoys participate in Western talks with Taliban in Norway Oslo Forum

·   Taliban representatives met with Indian and Pakistani special envoys and officials amongst a number of international diplomats, in an effort by the Norwegian Government to break the impasse in talks on the sidelines of a peace conference in Oslo.

·    The talks, which came in for criticism from Afghan diaspora groups, including in Norway, for “legitimising” the insurgent group that took control of Kabul in August 2021, are the first time India and Pakistan were invited to a European country for the talks, although they have been part of similar efforts at the Moscow format hosted by Russia, and in Doha hosted by Qatar. 

·    Afghanistan faces a humanitarian crisis with acute food shortages, and continuing human rights violations including denial of education and employment to females by the Taliban. 

·     Despite the challenges, New Delhi reopened its mission in Kabul in June 2022 and maintains a “technical team” there to oversee aid and development initiatives.

·      India’s latest shipment of 20,000 tonnes of wheat that is arriving via the Chabahar port in Iran this week were among issues discussed. 

·     While there, the Taliban officials held closed-door talks with special envoys from the U.S., the U.K., Norway, Qatar, India, Pakistan, and the head of the UN Afghanistan Mission (UNAMA) RozaOtunbayeva, as well as with members of Afghan civil society, including a woman negotiator and a leading lawyer. They spoke at a session at the Forum where many angry questions over the decision to stop girls’ education were raised by participants.

·      Afghan activists based in Norway tried to enter the venue of the talks, and held a protest against the meet in Oslo, accusing officials of “talking to terrorists” and legitimising a regime that no country at present has granted official recognition to.