Cautious rebuilding of Delhi-Kabul ties

The Taliban’s appointment of a consul for the Afghan mission in Mumbai appears to be part of a nascent and cautious process of engagement between the two sides. The move followed the visit of an Indian delegation to Kabul last week for the first meeting with the Taliban acting defence minister Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of the group’s founder Mullah Omar. There are indications that India is fine with the appointment of the consul as he was the recipient of an Indian scholarship, spent several years in the country, and is known to the foreign ministry.

New Delhi withdrew its diplomats from Kabul after the Taliban takeover in August 2021. This was understandable as India was seen as close to the elected dispensation headed by Ashraf Ghani, though the Indian side re-established a presence in 2022 by sending the so-called “technical team”. There is a need for more manpower at Afghan missions in India to provide consular services to a large Afghan population in India, including students and those seeking health care, and the slow rebuilding of ties makes sense.

In recent months, the Taliban set-up in Kabul has reached out to New Delhi on several occasions, seeking the revival of India-backed development projects in Afghanistan, visas for students, and expansion of trade, including the use of the Indian terminal at Iran’s Chabahar port. While it is imperative to protect India’s interests in a country as strategic as Afghanistan, the Indian side must ensure it is not used by the Taliban to counterbalance the group’s relations with Pakistan, which are at an all-time low. The Taliban too must do more to address India’s concerns, especially on counter-terrorism, given that elements in the group had long-standing ties with the security apparatus in Rawalpindi and were linked to attacks on Indian interests.

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