India’s Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday that New Delhi is reviewing the duties, responsibilities and staffing of its embassy in Kabul, with further details to be announced once a decision is finalised.
The ministry declined to comment on whether India is considering formal recognition of the Taliban.
Speaking at a press briefing on 7 November, ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that following the recent visit of Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to New Delhi, a series of exchanges had taken place between the two sides on development cooperation. He added that phone contacts had also been established between the foreign ministers of India and the Taliban.
When asked by a Business India reporter whether the Taliban intended to send an ambassador to New Delhi and if Afghanistan’s national flag would be replaced with the Taliban flag, Jaiswal did not answer directly. He said only that India’s mission in Afghanistan had already been upgraded to the level of an embassy and that work on its reorganisation was under way.
Relations between India and the Taliban have expanded in recent months. Earlier, the Taliban’s deputy agriculture minister travelled to New Delhi, which also hosted Muttaqi for bilateral talks. The increased contacts coincide with heightened tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan.
In October, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs announced that New Delhi had upgraded its technical mission in Kabul to the status of an embassy, a move Indian officials described as a sign of its commitment to broaden engagement with the Taliban. The upgrade took effect immediately.
Muttaqi’s visit to India took place as Pakistan launched airstrikes inside Afghanistan. The Taliban responded, triggering more than a week of border clashes. During the escalation, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused the Taliban of attacking on India’s instructions, alleging that the assaults occurred while the Taliban foreign minister was in New Delhi.
