Taliban appoints Ikramuddin Kamil as ‘Acting Consul’ at Afghan mission in Mumbai, no confirmation yet from Indian govt

The Taliban regime has appointed Ikramuddin Kamil as the ‘acting consul’ in the Afghan mission in Mumbai, however, there has been no official confirmation from the Indian on this development.

Notably, Kamil has been appointed as “acting consul” less than a week after India held its first talk with the Taliban administration of Afghanistan which included acting defence minister, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of the group’s late founder Mullah Omar.

As per the Afghan media, the Kamil’s appointment, announced by the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, marks was “the first such appointment made by the Taliban regime to any Afghan mission in India."

“The appointment of Ikramuddin Kamil is part of the Islamic Emirate’s efforts to strengthen diplomatic ties and enhance its presence abroad," Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency said.

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“Dr. Kamil is expected to facilitate consular services and represent the interests of Afghanistan in India, fostering collaboration between the two nations,” it further said.

The Consul General post, however, fell vacant in May this year after Zakia Wardak, the Consul General, was detained at Mumbai airport for allegedly trying to smuggle in 25 kg gold from Dubai.

Wardak stepped down on May 4, 2024 blaming “defamation and personal attacks” and subsequently fled the country.

Who is Ikramuddin Kamil, Taliban appointed acting consul in Mumbai’s Afghanistan mission

According to the Taliban’s foreign ministry, Kamil is already residing in Mumbai, where has been fulfilling his duties as a diplomat representing the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’.

Reports quoted people familiar with the development, speaking on condition of anonymity, as saying that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is familiar with Kamil as he is an Afghan student who studied in India for seven years on the ministry scholarship.

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Kamil agreed to function as a “diplomat” in the consulate even as his “status remains that of an Afghan national working for Afghans in India,” a report by The Indian Express quoted sources as saying.

As per a report by Bakhtar News Agency, Kamil holds a PhD degree in international law and previously served as deputy director in the department of security cooperation and border affairs in the foreign ministry.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, Kamil is a Pashtun from Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. He studied law at the Islamic University Islamabad after which he completed MPhil and PhD degrees from the South Asian University (SAU) established in New Delhi by members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).

He received a scholarship from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to study at SAU.

India-Taliban relationship

Like several other countries, India doesn’t recognise the Taliban regime in Afghanistan that assumed power after the collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government in August 2021.

Almost all the diplomats appointed by the Ghani-led government, including former ambassador Farid Mamundzay, had left India and sought refuge/ asylum in different Western nations.

A lone former diplomat, Syed Mohammad Ibrahimkhail, stayed in India and had kept the Afghan mission in New Delhi and the consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad running.

India too had initially closed its embassy and pulled out all its officials after the Taliban took over Afghanistan. A diplomatic presence from the Indian side was re-established in Kabul in June 2022 with the deployment of a “technical team”.

Despite these, India remains to be one of the countries that has maintained dialogue with the Taliban without recognising the administration that the Taliban have named as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

With inputs from agencies.