India, May 16 -- Afghanistan is looking to renew and normalise ties with India and is open to investments for the country's development, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said on Friday in the wake of the first contact between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and Taliban acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

The phone call between Jaishankar and Muttaqi, the highest level of contact between the Indian government and the Taliban since they took over Afghanistan in August 2021, raised eyebrows in diplomatic circles as it came amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan.

Muttaqi's move to call Jaishankar ahead of his scheduled visits to Iran and China next week is also significant, people familiar with the matter said on ...