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HomeDiplomacyIndia upgrades technical mission in Kabul to embassy with ‘immediate effect’ amid...

India upgrades technical mission in Kabul to embassy with ‘immediate effect’ amid Taliban-Pakistan rift

Political engagement between India and the Taliban regime continues apace even as Kabul and Islamabad’s relationship continues to fray.

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New Delhi: India Tuesday announced that its technical mission in Kabul has been upgraded to the status of an embassy with “immediate effect”. New Delhi had made the promise to upgrade its diplomatic outreach with the Taliban regime during Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to India last week.

“In keeping with the decision announced during the recent visit of the Afghan Foreign Minister to India, the Government is restoring the status of the Technical Mission of India in Kabul to that of Embassy of India in Afghanistan with immediate effect,” read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

It added: “This decision underscores India’s resolve to deepen its bilateral engagement with the Afghan side in all spheres of mutual interest.The Embassy of India in Kabul will further augment India’s contribution to Afghanistan’s comprehensive development, humanitarian assistance, and capacity-building initiatives, in keeping with the priorities and aspirations of Afghan society.”

India does not formally recognise the Taliban regime as the official government of Afghanistan. However, with this move, New Delhi has indicated its openness to deepen engagement with the Taliban and will likely accept the accreditation of regime-appointed diplomats at the Afghanistan missions across India.

The speed with which India has moved to deepen ties with the Taliban comes as Kabul and Islamabad have engaged in their most serious military clashes in the last few weeks. Muttaqi’s visit to India was the first by a Taliban leader since returning to power in 2021.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar announced India’s intention to upgrade its mission in Kabul to the status of an embassy during a bilateral meeting with Muttaqi on 10 October. The Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan was in India for a six-day visit from 9 to 15 October. The Jaishankar-Muttaqi meeting was the first between the two. They had earlier spoken on phone days after Operation Sindoor.

India has maintained a technical mission in Kabul since 2022, after the Taliban returned to power in the Central Asian country on 15 August 2021. India moved to deepen engagement with the Taliban after the December 2024 air strikes by Pakistan across the Durand Line, which left at least 46 people dead.

The Taliban-Pakistan conflict

Earlier this month, Pakistan launched attacks on Afghanistan alleging that Kabul hosts the internationally proscribed organisation Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The Acting Afghan Foreign Minister rejected the claims, while calling on Islamabad to rein in militant groups, during a press conference in New Delhi on 12 October. 

While Muttaqi was in New Delhi, Taliban forces retaliated against Pakistani positions across the Durand Line on 11 and 12 October.

The military back and forth between Kabul and Islamabad left dozens dead, injured hundreds and could have turned into a full-blown armed conflict. However, the Taliban and Pakistan Sunday announced that the two sides had reached a ceasefire leading to a pause in the conflict, after mediation efforts by Qatar and Türkiye.

The Taliban and Pakistan agreed to hold meetings in “the coming days to ensure the sustainability of the ceasefire”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar said in a statement Sunday, bringing about a pause in the hostilities between the two neighbouring countries.

As ties between Kabul and Islamabad remain tenuous, India has moved to solidify its engagement with the Taliban. Muttaqi’s six-day visit to India was marked with two press conferences, high-level political interaction with Jaishankar, a business meeting as well as a visit to the Darul Uloom seminary in Uttar Pradesh’s Deoband.

For India, its interests in Kabul were underscored by Jaishankar—humanitarian and development aid, access to Afghanistan’s mineral wealth for Indian companies and healthcare. Jaishankar handed over ambulances to Muttaqi, while promising more to be sent to Afghanistan.

Afghanistan by some estimates is said to hold roughly $3 trillion in mineral wealth. China has moved in the last few years to sign contracts to explore the mineral wealth in Afghanistan. India upgrading its mission to that of an embassy in Kabul is similar to moves made by Beijing in January 2024. Russia is the first major nation to formally recognise the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan.

(Edited by Gitanjali Das)


Also Read: Wakhan Corridor — India’s forgotten 106-km border with Afghanistan is back in play


 

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