In a surprising development, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan has appointed Ikramuddin Kamil as an acting consul to the Afghan Consulate in Mumbai, India, despite India not recognizing the Taliban government. This appointment, announced on November 12, marks the Taliban’s first official diplomatic presence in India since its takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
Kamil, a graduate of South Asian University in New Delhi, has been pursuing a PhD there for the past seven years. While India has yet to make an official statement regarding the appointment, sources within the government have confirmed the news. According to these sources, Kamil is an Afghan national who has been residing in India for several years and has received a scholarship from India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The appointment of Kamil follows a meeting between a delegation of Indian officials, led by JP Singh, India’s Joint Secretary for Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran, and Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the Taliban’s acting defense minister, earlier this month. Yaqoob, the son of Mullah Omar, the former Supreme Leader of the Taliban, is a prominent figure in the current regime.
Kamil’s appointment comes at a time when the Afghan consulate in India is struggling with a significant staff shortage. Many Afghan diplomats left India following the Taliban’s takeover, seeking asylum in Western countries. As a result, the Afghan embassy in New Delhi was shut down last year due to a lack of support from India, leaving only consulates in Hyderabad and Mumbai to handle the affairs of the Afghan community in India.
Earlier this year, Zakia Wardak, the Consul General in Mumbai, resigned after being implicated in a gold smuggling scandal at the airport. Her diplomatic immunity protected her from arrest, but her departure further strained the already understaffed consulate, leaving Afghan nationals without adequate consular services, such as visa processing.
Kamil’s appointment is being viewed as a move by the Taliban to gain international legitimacy and extend its diplomatic influence abroad. While India has not officially recognized the Taliban’s government, it has engaged in dialogue with the group in various formats, reflecting a delicate balancing act in the region’s geopolitics.
India is particularly wary of the Taliban’s growing ties with Pakistan and China, both of which have shown interest in leveraging the Taliban’s presence for their own strategic gains. China, for example, became the first country to recognize a Taliban envoy earlier this year, though it did not officially recognize the Taliban government.
Despite the lack of formal recognition, India’s dialogue with the Taliban underscores its complex approach to Afghanistan. The appointment of Ikramuddin Kamil as acting consul in Mumbai further complicates India’s diplomatic stance, highlighting the geopolitical challenges of managing relations with the Taliban amidst shifting alliances and interests in the region.
