What’s behind India’s diplomatic overtures toward Afghanistan’s Taliban?

India is signalling a deepening of its diplomatic engagement with Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government, with the likely approval of a Taliban-nominated representative to be posted at one of the Afghan missions in the South Asian country, according to media reports.

This shift could lead to New Delhi's full diplomatic recognition of the Taliban-led government in Kabul, analysts say.

While the Indian government is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), the Taliban adhere to its self-interpretation of the Islamic law to run Afghanistan’s affairs.

According to Indian publication The Sunday Guardian, the Taliban has nominated Ikramuddin Kamil as its representative, with the Indian government reportedly considering letting him take charge as the second secretary at Afghanistan’s consulate in Mumbai.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) neither confirmed nor denied the report.

When contacted by TRT World, a ministry official suggested that additional information may be provided during the MEA’s briefing later this week.

Meanwhile, an Indian source close to the ministry told TRT World that while India is “looking into the matter,” any decision “won’t be rushed.”

The Taliban’s Doha-based spokesperson declined to comment, stating that only Taliban government's Kabul-based foreign ministry is authorised to address the topic. The ministry in Kabul had not responded to TRT World's queries at the time of publishing.

Three years after taking control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban administration now controls 39 Afghan embassies and consulates in other countries.

If appointed, Kamil would be the most senior Taliban diplomat in India.

Despite a lack of formal international recognition, the Taliban has appointed diplomats to several foreign missions, including ambassadors in China and the United Arab Emirates, as well as a charge d'affaires in Pakistan.

At other embassies, diplomats appointed under Afghanistan’s previous government continue working in cooperation with Taliban authorities.

While India has so far refrained from formalising diplomatic ties with the interim Taliban government, it has maintained informal communication with the Taliban administration, including the presence of a “technical” team stationed in Afghanistan.

Kamil’s appointment – currently under consideration by the Indian authorities – could mark a significant milestone in India-Afghanistan relations. The Taliban nominee is a PhD graduate from South Asian University in New Delhi.

“We are opening up slowly and steadily to the Taliban government in Kabul,” an Indian source said.

“Over 30 countries have already accepted envoys from the Taliban. Moreover, the Taliban is no longer seen as hostile to India, as it was once perceived,” the source explained, outlining the rationale behind New Delhi’s shifting stance on the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan.

India’s endorsement of Kamil could serve multiple strategic purposes, including safeguarding its development projects in Afghanistan and creating a direct line of communication with the Taliban government, according to analysts.

Taliban officials have reportedly assured New Delhi that they will not allow Afghan soil to carry out attacks against India, reflecting the Taliban’s willingness to address India’s security concerns.

High-level meetings in Kabul

The report that the Indian government is considering hosting a Taliban representative at the Afghan mission in Mumbai gains further traction following a recent visit to Kabul by a high-level Indian delegation led by the country's special envoy for Afghanistan, Jitender Pal Singh.

During his two-day visit to Kabul on November 4-5, Singh met key Afghan officials, including acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi and, in a rare exchange, acting Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqoob. Singh also held talks with former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai and the heads of UN agencies in Kabul.

With Afghan officials, he discussed humanitarian assistance, trade access, and regional security, according to official statements from both sides.

It remains unclear whether the issue of stationing a Taliban nominee at the Afghan mission in Mumbai was discussed during these meetings.

According to an official statement from the interim Taliban government's foreign ministry, the discussions focused on “strengthening political and economic ties between Afghanistan and India, as well as facilitating people-to-people exchanges.”

The statement noted that Muttaqi expressed optimism about the growing Afghan-Indian relationship, emphasising the need to streamline the issuance of Indian visas, particularly for Afghan businesspeople, to promote trade.

The appointment of a Taliban diplomat in India will greatly benefit Afghan students, professionals, and patients who rely on India’s educational and medical services.

The two sides also discussed “India’s ongoing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, including ways to leverage the Chabahar port (a strategic trade corridor India is developing in neighbouring Iran) for Afghan businesses to facilitate trade and other transactions,” Randhir Jaiswal, India’s foreign ministry spokesperson, told the media.

Multilateral engagement

India also hosted a Taliban delegation from Afghanistan at the South Asian Telecommunication Regulators’ Council (SATRC) in New Delhi on Monday.

The event saw participation from Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Pakistan, the Maldives, and Nepal.

Organised by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the event marked a rare formal multilateral gathering involving Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government.

These recent developments suggest a careful but steady strengthening of ties between India and the Taliban-governed Afghanistan.

They also come at a time when Pakistan’s relations with the Afghan Taliban have taken a hit.

Islamabad accuses the Taliban of backing armed groups, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, which continues to carry out deadly cross-border attacks across the country. Kabul denies this and says it does not allow anyone to use the territory of Afghanistan against Pakistan.