New Delhi: India on Tuesday evening announced the upgradation of its three-year-old “technical mission” in the Afghan capital Kabul to a full-fledged embassy with “immediate effect”. The intent had initially been announced after talks between external affairs minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar and his Afghan counterpart and senior Taliban regime leader Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi here 11 days ago.
It may be be noted that while India appears to be steadily inching towards full diplomatic recognition of the Taliban regime in Kabul, New Delhi has not yet permitted the Taliban regime to hoist its flag on the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi.
Backing Afghanistan in its conflict with Pakistan, India had last week said Islamabad is “infuriated” that Afghanistan is exercising its sovereignty over its own territory.
In a statement on Tuesday, New Delhi said, “In keeping with the decision announced during the recent visit of the Afghan Foreign Minister to India, the Government is restoring the status of the Technical Mission of India in Kabul to that of Embassy of India in Afghanistan with immediate effect. This decision underscores India’s resolve to deepen its bilateral engagement with the Afghan side in all spheres of mutual interest.” It added, “The Embassy of India in Kabul will further augment India’s contribution to Afghanistan’s comprehensive development, humanitarian assistance, and capacity-building initiatives, in keeping with the priorities and aspirations of Afghan society.”
Speaking at a press conference at the Afghan Embassy during his recent visit, Mr. Muttaqi had claimed that his country had received the nod from the Indian Government to post diplomats to the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi. When asked whether an Ambassador would be appointed by his country to India, Mr. Muttaqi said the posting of Afghan diplomats would commence and that the level would gradually be scaled up in due course.
It may be recalled that the Taliban had stormed to power after the American military withdrawal in August, 2021, which led to the collapse of the then Afghan Government led by President Ashraf Ghani who fled the country. India had initially pulled out all its diplomats from Kabul in August, 2021, following the Taliban takeover and all Indian personnel working on infrastructure projects in the strife-torn nation had also left then. New Delhi had subsequently established a “technical team” or “Technical mission” in place there at the Indian Embassy since June, 2022 when its ties with the Taliban began to improve.
The developments come in the wake of the recent border clashes between Afghanistan under its ruling Taliban regime and its erstwhile mentor Pakistan that have claimed several lives. Ties between Islamabad and the Afghan Taliban have been deteriorating steadily over the past few years after deadly attacks on Pakistani security forces by militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Islamabad has alleged that the TTP is being backed and sheltered by the Afghan Taliban.
At his weekly media briefing last Thursday, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said Pakistan hosts terrorists and has an “old practice of blaming its neighbours for its own internal failures”. The MEA Spokesperson had also said India completely supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan
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