India-Afghanistan relations: In another major diplomatic jolt for Pakistan and its ally China post Operation Sindoor, New Delhi is working diligently to build closer India-Afghanistan relations as a means to counter Islamabad and Beijing. Addressing the weekly press briefing on Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India has implemented a new visa module, which allows Afghan nationals to apply for an Indian visa in six categories.
India implements new visa module for Afghans
The MEA spokesperson revealed that the old visa module for Afghan nationals has been discontinued, while the new module, aimed at strengthening people-to-people ties between India and Afghanistan, came into effect of April 29 last month.
Under the new visa module, Afghan citizens can apply for Indian visas under six categories–medical, medical attendant, business, entry, student, and UN diplomatic, Jaiswal said, while urging Afghan nationals who are in India under the old module, to get their visas updated as per the new policy.
“I would like to introduce you to the new visa module in place for Afghan nationals. This was, I think, put in place last month. The old visa module that we had, a program called E-Emergency Ex-Miscelleanous Visa, has been discontinued, and we have a new visa model for Afghan nationals, which came into effect on 29th April,” he said.
New Delhi working to build closer India-Afghanistan relations
Notably, India had suspended visas for Afghan citizens after Taliban regime seized power in June 2021 after the United States withdrew from the war-torn country. However, New Delhi recently visa services for Afghan nationals after a four-year hiatus, in an effort to build closer ties with Kabul, primarily as a means to counter the growing influence of Pakistan and China in the region.
Additionally, India has resumed re-established its diplomatic presence in Kabul and is actively engaging with ruling Afghan Taliban regime, which was one of the few nations that openly supported New Delhi in the recent India-Pakistan conflict and condemned the heinous Pahalgam terror attack in the strongest terms.
EAM Jaishankar talks to Afghan FM Muttaqi
Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a telephonic conversation with Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between India and Afghanistan. Jaishankar also expressed his appreciation for Muttaqi’s strong condemnation of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and welcomed the Taliban minister’s “firm rejection” of recent attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan through “false and baseless reports.”
“Good conversation with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi this evening. Deeply appreciate his condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Welcomed his firm rejection of recent attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan through false and baseless reports. Underlined our traditional friendship with the Afghan people and our continuing support for their development needs. Discussed ways and means of taking cooperation forward,” Jaishankar wrote on X following the conversation with Muttaqi.
(With inputs from agencies)
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