India on Tuesday announced that its technical mission in Kabul has been upgraded to the status of an embassy with immediate effect.
The process was completed in less than a fortnight after external affairs minister S. Jaishankar announced Delhi’s intent to deepen engagement with Afghanistan with such an upgrade.
Jaishankar had made the announcement in his opening remarks at the bilateral engagement with his Afghan counterpart from the Taliban, Amir Khan Muttaqi, during his visit to Delhi on October 10.
That day itself, Muttaqi told reporters that diplomats of the Islamic Emirate would also be stationed in India, adding that Jaishankar had said they could be sent to the embassy in Delhi.
Announcing the upgrade, the external affairs ministry in a statement 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. 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.”
No details were immediately available on the diplomatic and staff strength at the embassy. Since India has not formally recognised the Taliban government, the mission in Kabul will be headed by a Charge d’Affaires. India has maintained a technical mission in Kabul since mid-2022 after pulling out diplomats and Indian staff from Afghanistan in the immediate wake of theTaliban taking control of the war-torn country in August 2021.
While this is the second time the Taliban are ruling Afghanistan, India had not engaged officially with the regime, of which Muttaqi was a part, in the 1990s. Back then, India had backed the Northern Alliance against the Taliban.
India took the initial steps towards engaging with the Taliban in 2022 to protect the sizable Indian investments that Delhi had developed across Afghanistan over the past two decades.
Apart from the absence of any resistance to the Taliban within Afghanistan, the shifting geopolitical realities also necessitated that India remain invested in the country.