NEW DELHI: India has restored its embassy in Kabul, upgrading its technical mission to full embassy status, as announced during Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s recent visit to New Delhi. The move marks a significant step toward re-establishing formal engagement between the two sides.
Under the new arrangement, India will appoint a chargé d’affaires as head of mission in Kabul, with plans to eventually designate a full ambassador. In turn, the Taliban are expected to send two diplomats to New Delhi by November 2025. They will operate from the Afghan embassy in the capital, even though India has not formally recognised the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).
The Ministry of External Affairs said the decision reflects India’s intent to deepen bilateral cooperation and support Afghanistan’s development, humanitarian aid, and capacity-building initiatives, consistent with Afghan society’s priorities. India had shut its Kabul embassy after the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, but reopened a technical mission in June 2022 to oversee the distribution of humanitarian assistance.
Muttaqi’s visit and the decision to elevate diplomatic ties come amid rising tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which escalated into deadly border clashes while he was still in India. Both India and the Taliban have pledged to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and jointly condemned terrorism originating from “regional countries” — a message widely seen as directed at Pakistan.
Afghanistan’s defence minister Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob rejected Islamabad’s accusations that India was behind recent border tensions, calling them “baseless and illogical.” He emphasised that Afghanistan’s policy would “never involve using our territory against other countries” and reaffirmed Kabul’s commitment to maintaining “independent and balanced relations” with both India and Pakistan.
India’s stance on formal recognition of the Taliban government remains aligned with that of the international community, which continues to press for a more inclusive government and the protection of women’s and children’s rights. Among major powers, Russia remains the only nation to have formally recognised the Taliban regime, though China and Pakistan have accepted its diplomats.
