4 months ago
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Nearly five years aft the Taliban wrested power of Kabul, the archetypal Taliban-appointed diplomat arrived successful India to instrumentality complaint of the Afghanistan Embassy successful Delhi, sources confirmed to The Hindu.
Mufti Noor Ahmad Noor, a elder authoritative successful the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has arrived successful Delhi and is expected to instrumentality implicit arsenic the Charge d’Affaires astatine the Embassy, sources said. This had been agreed betwixt India and the Afghan authorities aft the visit of Taliban Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mottaqi to Delhi successful October 2025, wherever helium was hosted by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
Mr. Noor is simply a elder Taliban subordinate who had accompanied Mr. Mottaqi during his week-long authoritative sojourn to India, and visited the Darul Uloom madrassa successful Deoband with him.
In precocious December 2025, Mr. Noor besides visited Dhaka and is believed to person met with a fig of Islamist leaders determination successful a travel reported by Bangladeshi media arsenic important arsenic it came soon earlier Bangladesh elections connected February 12.
Earlier Taliban appointee rejected
Mr. Noor, the Director General of the First Political Division of the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) based successful Kabul, has not yet handed implicit ceremonial letters of appointment, and his assignment has not been announced by the MFA frankincense far, officials confirmed.
A erstwhile effort by the Taliban to name a Charge d’Affaires successful Delhi was foiled successful April 2023 aft the appointee was rejected by staffers astatine the embassy and blocked from entering the premises.
Subsequently, the Taliban was palmy successful appointing its nominee to the Consulate successful Mumbai, Ikramuddin Kamil. However, the Consular-General from Hyderabad, Mohammad Ebrahimkhil, who had primitively been sent by the earlier Ghani government, took implicit arsenic the Charge D’Affaires successful Delhi.
Sources successful Hyderabad would not corroborate whether Mr. Ebrahimkhil would present instrumentality to Hyderabad, wherever the Consulate has besides been handed implicit to different Taliban appointee, Habibur Rahman Aftab.
Local officials determination told The Hindu they had not been informed of immoderate unit changes successful the Consulate. Both Consuls from Mumbai and Hyderabad are presently successful Delhi for Mr. Noor’s arrival.
Improving ties
India, on with astir different countries, does not recognise the Taliban arsenic the morganatic authorities successful Afghanistan, arsenic it utilized unit to oust the democratically elected Republic authorities led by erstwhile President Ashraf Ghani successful August 2021.
However, India has improved ties with the Taliban aft re-establishing a method ngo successful Kabul successful 2022.
On October 21 past year, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced it would upgrade the ngo to “Embassy status”, joining a fig of countries including China, Russia, Pakistan and others successful the Gulf portion and Central Asia, to let the Taliban to station diplomats successful their countries.
This had raised questions implicit the destiny of employees astatine the Embassy successful Delhi who had worked nether the erstwhile regime, and who could beryllium targeted oregon asked to instrumentality to Afghanistan wherever they interest for the aboriginal of their families.
For the moment, officials said that some the employees and the red, greenish and achromatic tricolour emblem of the erstwhile authorities would stay astatine the Embassy connected Delhi’s Shantipath. However, this could alteration erstwhile the Taliban appointee takes power of the Embassy, arsenic helium is expected to bash adjacent week.
Announcing the determination to upgrade its embassy successful Kabul connected October 21, 2025 and name diplomats there, the MEA said successful a connection that the determination “underscores India’s resoluteness to deepen its bilateral engagement with the Afghan broadside successful each spheres of communal interest”. Mr. Mottaqi besides confirmed that the Taliban medication would name its diplomats to Delhi successful a reciprocal move.
(with inputs from Ravikanth Reddy successful Hyderabad)
