India is expected to accept a top Taliban representative to the country in the coming weeks, marking New Delhi’s latest step to strengthen ties with Afghanistan and counter China’s growing influence in the region.
The Taliban-led government has identified two potential candidates to oversee the Afghan embassy in New Delhi, Bloomberg cited officials familiar with the discussions as saying.
While India will not officially recognise the Taliban official as a diplomat, the individual will serve as the top representative of Afghanistan in India. The Taliban will not be allowed to fly its flag at the embassy, at official events, or on diplomatic vehicles, the officials added.
Only a few countries, including China, Pakistan, and Russia, have accepted Taliban diplomats following the group’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. The Taliban has faced international criticism for its human rights record. India, like many nations, severed diplomatic ties with Afghanistan after the regime change, closing its embassy in Kabul and significantly reducing engagement.
Najib Shaheen, a diplomat in his early 30s currently based at the Afghan embassy in Doha, is the leading contender for the top post in New Delhi, officials said. Shaheen has worked with the Taliban for nearly a decade and is the son of the Islamic regime’s ambassador to Qatar. Another candidate being considered is Shawkat Ahmadzai, who works at the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bloomberg quoted one official as saying.
China became the first country to grant diplomatic credentials to a Taliban representative last year. Afghanistan’s strategic location connecting Central Asia with South Asia remains crucial for both India and China. Despite the Taliban’s rise, Chinese companies have continued investing in Afghanistan’s mining and infrastructure sectors.
The Taliban also plans to construct a road through the Wakhan Corridor, a remote stretch that links Afghanistan with China. The proposed route would provide Beijing with direct access to Central Asia and the Middle East, boosting China’s economic influence in the resource-rich region.
India, meanwhile, is cautiously rebuilding relations with Kabul. Prior to 2021, India invested in more than 500 development and infrastructure projects across Afghanistan, covering sectors such as power, water supply, education, and healthcare.
Bilateral trade talks resumed after senior representatives from India and the Taliban met in Doha in January. Additionally, the Taliban recently dispatched an administrator to Mumbai to assist Afghan nationals with consular services.
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To counter China influence, India to allow Taliban send ambassador-level envoy in New Delhi
