New Delhi/Kabul – India’s diplomatic involvement with the Taliban government of Afghanistan is increasing. In a recent development, India has formally handed over the Afghan consulate in Hyderabad to a Taliban appointed representative. According to the sources, the transfer happened in June.
This action is part of a shift in India’s foreign policy, as a similar move occurred last year when the consulate in Mumbai was transferred to a Taliban diplomat, Ikramuudin Kamil.
Mohammad Rahman was appointed as the Taliban diplomat in Hyderabad by the Foreign Ministry of the Taliban, which has strengthened its position in the diplomatic missions of India.
This shift is part of a larger, more pragmatic policy of India toward the de facto government in Kabul. Although India has not officially acknowledged the Taliban regime, its actions indicate an increased readiness to engage directly.
After the Taliban takeover in 2021, Indian embassy personnel returned to India. But since June 2022, an Indian technical team has been positioned at the embassy in Kabul to oversee humanitarian assistance and other emergencies.
The appointments in Hyderabad and Mumbai indicate that New Delhi is now permitting the Taliban to take charge of consular operations, which are vital serving the sizable Afghan diaspora in India.
Taliban Delegation Expected in India
This diplomatic progress occurs in the context of growing high-level contacts between the two parties. It is reported that a top delegation of the Taliban government is on its way to India next month. Such a visit, were it to take place, would be a breakthrough towards the formalization of relations, and might lead to the replacement of the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi, now headed by a Charge d’Affaires, said Muhammad Ibrahim Khil, appointed by the former Afghan regime, with Taliban-nominated diplomats.
Shift in India’s Foreign Policy
Analysts are of the view that India’s evolving approach to Afghanistan is shaped by a mix of regional security imperatives, strategic competition, and economic interests. While officially unrecognized, the Taliban regime is increasingly being engaged by New Delhi in what appears to be a pragmatic realignment.
India’s engagement with the Taliban, despite the absence of formal recognition, is widely seen as a tactical recalibration, aimed at preempting Pakistan’s traditional influence in Kabul. Additionally, safeguarding trade routes, particularly through Iran’s Chabahar Port, viewed as a strategic counter to Pakistan’s Gwadar corridor, is central to India’s connectivity goals in Central Asia.
Recent High-level Engagements
The series of high-level meetings has reinforced the diplomatic outreach. After the recent “Operation Sindoor” and the denunciation of the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack, the external affairs minister of India, S. Jaishankar, had a telephone conversation with the acting Afghan foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi. Jaishankar welcomed the robust denunciation of the attack by Muttaqi, which was an indication of a direct hotline of communication on security issues.
The interactions follow other key engagements, such as a meeting between the Foreign Secretary of India, Vikram Misri, and Muttaqi in the UAE. At their meeting in January, the two sides agreed to encourage the use of the Iranian port of Chabahar, a strategic trade and connectivity pathway to Central Asia.
As a further demonstration of the deepening of relations, J.P. Singh, the former Joint Secretary of the Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan desks and now the Indian Ambassador to Israel, was in Kabul in November 2024 to meet with Muhammad Yaqoob Mujahid, Defense Minister of the Taliban regime.
