Taliban seeks to reopen embassy in Delhi; India proceeds with caution

The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan is pushing to reopen its embassy in New Delhi, The Tribune has learned. The regime has also submitted a list of proposed diplomats to India, with Najib Shaheen at the top. Notably, Shaheen is the son of Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s Qatar-based spokesperson and a key figure in the group’s diplomatic outreach. A fluent English speaker and writer, Suhail Shaheen was also the editor of Kabul Times during the 1990s.

In November last year, the Taliban appointed an India-based Afghan national, Ikramuddin Kamil, as its acting consul in Mumbai — the first such appointment by the regime in India. Kamil studied law at the Islamic University, Islamabad, before attending South Asian University in New Delhi, which was established by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

This latest development follows a meeting on January 8 in Dubai between India’s Foreign Secretary, Vikram Misri and Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. During the discussions, Misri reaffirmed India’s historic friendship with the Afghan people and the deep people-to-people ties between the two nations.

However, Indian authorities remain hesitant about approving a Taliban-nominated envoy, given the group’s close ties with Pakistan’s establishment, sources said. One possible alternative, a source suggested, could be India offering to reopen its own embassy in Kabul before considering the Taliban’s request.

On November 24, 2023, the Afghanistan embassy in New Delhi announced its permanent closure, citing pressure from both India and the Taliban. In its statement, the embassy said, “The diplomats of the Afghan Republic have handed over the mission solely to the Indian government. It now rests upon the Indian government to decide the fate of the mission, whether to maintain its closure or consider alternatives, including the possibility of handing it over to Taliban diplomats. The responsibility of diplomats appointed by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has officially come to an end. The unfortunate end of the Republic mission marks the conclusion of the Afghan Republic in India.”

Despite the embassy’s closure, Afghanistan continues to maintain a diplomatic presence in India, with consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad still providing essential services to Afghan nationals.