Diplomatic sources from the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi have revealed that India’s Ministry of External Affairs is engaged in negotiations to accept Taliban diplomats at the mission.
According to these sources, the Taliban plans to send an initial delegation to New Delhi to assess the embassy’s status and determine its operational needs.
While no official announcement has been made regarding the names of the Taliban diplomats, an informed source identified Najib Shaheen, son of Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s ambassador in Doha, and Shaukat Ahmadi, another Taliban-affiliated figure, as potential candidates for diplomatic positions at the embassy.
The decision to negotiate the transfer of the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi to Taliban control has reportedly faced resistance from former diplomats still managing the mission.
Last year, Abbas Stanekzai, the Taliban’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, claimed that Sayed Mohammad Ibrahim and Zakia Wardak, two Afghan consuls in India, were already cooperating with the Taliban’s foreign ministry and that the embassy would soon be under their administration.
However, Ibrahimkhil, the Afghan Consul General in Hyderabad, stated in a video message that he had taken charge of the embassy’s consular affairs at the request of the Indian government but did not confirm any affiliation with the Taliban’s foreign ministry.
Meanwhile, Wardak resigned from her position after being detained at Mumbai airport on gold smuggling charges.
India has previously accepted a Taliban diplomat, Ikramuddin Kamil, as Second Consul General at the Afghan Consulate in Mumbai. According to Hedayatullah Hedayat, the Deputy Head of the Taliban’s National Radio and Television, Kamil has now taken full control of the Afghan consulate in Mumbai.
Following the fall of the Afghan Republic, internal conflicts surfaced within the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi. In late 2023, Farid Mamundzay, the former Afghan government’s ambassador, resigned under alleged Taliban pressure and due to India’s direct engagement with the group.
After his resignation, Sayed Mohammad Ibrahimkhil, the Afghan Consul General in Hyderabad, assumed charge of the embassy with India’s approval.
Sources indicate that India has intensified its direct dealings with the Taliban, marginalising non-Taliban diplomats at the embassy. This shift has been evident in India’s handling of Afghan consulates across the country.
Earlier this year, after Zakia Wardak was removed as Afghanistan’s Consul General in Mumbai due to her gold smuggling charges, India transferred control of the consulate to Rohullah Kamil, a Taliban-affiliated official, with the group’s approval.
Over the past three years, senior Indian diplomats have visited Afghanistan, and reports suggest that a "technical team" from India is currently stationed at the Indian Embassy in Kabul.
In a recent development, Vikram Misri, India’s Deputy Foreign Minister, met with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s Foreign Minister, in Dubai last month. India’s Ministry of External Affairs stated that the discussions focused on regional developments and the expansion of humanitarian cooperation.
