Taliban appoint envoy to Afghan embassy in Delhi

Afghan Taliban – (Special Correspondent / Web Desk) – Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government has appointed its first senior representative to India since returning to power in 2021, placing him in charge of the Afghan embassy in New Delhi.

Although India has not formally recognised the Taliban administration, the appointment points to growing engagement between the two sides, as New Delhi looks to take advantage of tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mufti Noor Ahmad Noor, an official from the Taliban’s foreign ministry, has taken up the role of charge d’affaires and has already met Indian officials, according to an embassy statement.

The Afghan Embassy said both sides stressed the need to strengthen Afghanistan-India ties. India has not issued an official response, but the embassy shared images of Noor meeting senior Indian diplomat Anand Prakash. Despite ideological differences between the Taliban and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, India appears keen to explore diplomatic openings, especially after recent regional tensions.

The appointment is significant for the Taliban, which has sought to reclaim control over Afghanistan’s overseas diplomatic missions as part of a broader push for international legitimacy.

In October, India said it would upgrade its technical mission in Afghanistan to a full embassy.

Russia is the only country to officially recognise the Afghan Taliban government.

According to Tolo News, a source from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has confirmed that Noor Ahmad Noor has been appointed as the Acting Head of Afghanistan’s Embassy in New Delhi.

Noor Ahmad Noor, who previously served as First Political Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has arrived in New Delhi and has officially assumed responsibility for overseeing the affairs of Afghanistan’s embassy.

This move may also signal India’s willingness to maintain communication channels with Afghanistan’s current authorities without formally recognizing the government.

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However, the recent meeting between India’s Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar, and the Islamic Emirate’s Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, is considered a turning point in relations between the two sides.

During the meeting, India’s foreign minister agreed to accept Islamic Emirate diplomats for Afghanistan’s embassy in New Delhi, a decision that paved the way for the appointment of the new acting head of the mission.