India to upgrade Kabul mission to full embassy

Srinagar: India is upgrading its technical mission in Kabul to a full embassy, India’s foreign minister announced Friday after meeting his Afghanistan counterpart in New Delhi. The announcement was made during the first high-level diplomatic engagement since the Taliban seized power in 2021 after two decades of US military presence.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said India was committed to Afghanistan’s development and pledged support in sectors like trade, health and education. He also said New Delhi is committed to Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“Closer cooperation between us contributes to your national development, as well as regional stability and resilience,” he said, addressing Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi at a joint press briefing after their meeting in New Delhi.

Muttaqi, who is among multiple Afghan Taliban leaders under UN sanctions that include travel bans and asset freezes, arrived in New Delhi on Thursday after the UN Security Council Committee granted a temporary travel exemption to him. The visit follows Muttaqi’s participation Tuesday at an international meeting on Afghanistan in Russia that included representatives from China, India, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The move underlines the deepening ties between India and the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan despite their historic antipathy for each other.

It comes as the Taliban administration seeks international recognition, and also underscores India’s strategic move to counter its regional rivals, Pakistan and China, who are deeply involved in Afghanistan.

India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Muttaqi in January. It was followed by telephone conversations between Muttaqi and Jaishankar. India’s special envoy to Afghanistan visited Kabul in April to discuss political and trade relations.

Experts say India’s decision to engage with the Taliban at higher levels reflects its strategic reassessment, shaped in part by the consequences of previous non-engagement as well as to avoid falling behind its strategic rivals.

“New Delhi views the world through the prism of its rivalry with either China, Pakistan, or both. The Taliban’s efforts at a balanced foreign policy, which involves establishing relations with rival countries and groups, mirror New Delhi’s own playbook,” said Praveen Donthi, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.

The visit comes while Afghanistan’s ties with Pakistan are strained, especially over refugee deportations and border tensions, and India’s engagement is seen as a strategic counterbalance to Pakistan’s influence. India also aims to limit Chinese dominance in Afghanistan through infrastructure and diplomatic presence.

“With Beijing proactively engaging the Taliban, New Delhi wouldn’t want its primary strategic rival to hold exclusive influence over Kabul,” Donthi said. He said Pakistan had a similar hold over the Taliban in the past but due to its deteriorating ties with Islamabad, New Delhi sees an opportunity to “develop modest influence over Kabul and strengthen its position as a regional power.”

When the Taliban took over Kabul four years ago, Indian security analysts had feared that it would benefit Pakistan and feed a long-simmering insurgency in Kashmir.

But New Delhi maintained steady contact with the Taliban despite these concerns and established a technical mission in Kabul in 2022, a year after the Taliban returned to power, focusing on humanitarian aid and development support. It continued engagement through back-channel diplomacy and regional forums that subsequently prompted increased engagement between the two countries this year.

India has long hosted tens of thousands of Afghan nationals, including students and businesspeople, many of whom fled the country after the Taliban rule. Afghanistan’s embassy in New Delhi shut down permanently in November 2023 but its consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad continue to operate with limited services.

The Taliban has engaged in high-level talks with many nations and established some diplomatic ties with countries including China. In July, Russia became the first country to recognise the Taliban’s government after removing the group from its list of outlawed organisations.

Still, the Taliban government has been relatively isolated on the world stage, largely over its restrictions on women.