India’s Full Diplomatic Recognition to Taliban-led Govt Soon: Report
India & Afghanistan delegation level talk in Dubai Image credit India MEA
Taliban to Protect Indian Interests Amid Worsening Ties with Pakistan
By Raisina Correspondent
New Delhi, January 9: In a significant geopolitical development, India is on course to fully recognise the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan. The Taliban assured India’s foreign secretary that the soil of Afghanistan will not be used against India.
India’s foreign secretary Vikram Misri held a delegation level talk with the acting Foreign Affairs minister of Afghanistan Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai yesterday. TRT World in a report said that India may soon grant full diplomatic recognition to Afghanistan.
The meeting of Misri with Muttaqui took place at a time when Afghanistan and Pakistan are on warpath. Both the Islamic nations have launched military attacks inside their respective territories.
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Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar in a press conference last week claimed that Afghanistan has pushed thousands of terrorists inside the Pakistani territory. External Affairs Ministry of India in an official briefing had termed the Pakistan and Afghanistan conflict as a risk to the regional peace and security.
The Taliban’s foreign affairs ministry in an official statement termed India as a significant regional and economic partner. “This shift could lead to New Delhi’s full diplomatic recognition of the Taliban-led government in Kabul,” TRT World quoted analysts saying in a report.
The Türkiye-based media house stated that India’s acceptance of the Taliban nominated Ikramuddin Kamil as representative in New Delhi could be a precursor to the recognition of the Kabul government. Kamil will take charge as the second secretary at Afghanistan’s consulate in Mumbai.
“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,” added TRT World in its report. It also quoted a source in Indian government, saying: “We are opening up slowly and steadily to the Taliban government in Kabul”.
In an official statement, the interim foreign ministry in Kabul said that “Afghanistan in line with balanced and economy-focused foreign policy aims to strengthen political and economic ties with India as a significant regional and economic partner”. “India is considering engaging in development projects in Afghanistan and looking to boost trade ties,” added the Taliban government in the statement.
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Michael Kugelman of South Asia Institute said in a thread on X that “one can speak of India’s outreach to the Taliban as an effort to counter Pakistan in Afghanistan”. He argued that the outreach is a “pragmatic step that better enables India to pursue a core interest of ensuring Afghan soil isn’t used to host terrorists that threaten India”.
The strategic affairs analyst also spotlighted Pakistan’s conundrum in Afghanistan as Islamabad is been spurned by a longtime Taliban asset that’s unwilling to curb anti-Pakistan militants while reducing its influence in Kabul which benefits India.
“But it is best not to look at India-Taliban engagement solely through Pakistan lenses. It also smooths the way for India’s efforts to try to establish connectivity links with Afghanistan via Iran (Chabahar Port) and onward into Central Asia,” added Kugelman.
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