Taliban wants to send envoy to Delhi, boost ties between India, Afghanistan

New Delhi: In an effort to improve its international credibility, the Taliban government of Afghanistan is trying to persuade India to allow it to post a diplomatic representative in New Delhi.

According to a report by The Print, the proposed candidates to become the envoy to India for Afghanistan’s current rulers include controvertial Taliban leader Abdul Qahar Balkhi, who is alleged to have issued death threats against journalists.

India has reopened its diplomatic mission in Kabul, but is yet to recognise the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has declined to comment on the issue even as India tries to navigate the complex diplomatic challenge posed by the Afghan Taliban.

The Print quoted officials as saying that the Afghan Taliban first came up with the proposal to send a diplomatic representive to India in July 2022, when a delegation from the MEA had visited Kabul.

Since then, India has posted three diplomats in Kabul. The current Indian delegation in Kabul also includes an estimated 80 soldiers from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

India is reportedly mulling over the feasibility of reopening its consulate in Kandahar, which was shut down when the Afghan Taliban captured Kabul following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The Afghan Taliban has reportedly tried to assuage India’s concerns over camps by terrorist groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan by engaging with Indian intelligence agencies.

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