The head of the Taliban political office, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai has called India an “important country”, and called for maintaining good diplomatic and economic ties with New Delhi, reports WION.
Stanikzai said, “India is a very important country in the subcontinent. We want to continue our economic and diplomatic relations with them. Our business is linked with India through Pakistan, and we want to keep that connectivity opened.”
But the two statements that will cause the most discomfort for Pakistan is when Stanikzai said that the air freight corridor agreement which was established in 2017 to promote bilateral ties between Kabul and New Delhi bypassing Pakistan would remain open.
The second point Stanikzai made was the extension of support for the strategically located Chabahar port in neighbouring Iran which has been built by India and he said, “there will be no barriers towards for trading through the port”. India had built this port so goods can travel from Chabahar by rail to Zahedan in Iran to Zaranj in Afghanistan.
Stanikzai also added, “We give due importance to our political, economic, and trade ties with India and we want these ties to continue. We are looking forward to working with India in this regard. We want these relations to continue.”
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