Kabul, Feb 15 (NVI) The Taliban regime of Afghanistan and the Indian government are quietly holding discussions and making efforts to strengthen ties and Kabul is expected to nominate its Envoy to New Delhi soon.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson of the Interim Afghan Government, has said that bilateral discussions and efforts are going on with India to strengthen diplomatic representation in both countries.
“We hope to extend our diplomatic presence in New Delhi and India’s in Afghanistan,” he added.
The Taliban regime is believed to have recently shared with India a list of Afghan diplomats proposed to be appointed as the Ambassador in New Delhi, according to The Khorasan Diary portal which quoted “reliable sources” in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan.
Among them, the most likely name is Najib Shaheen, son of Sohail Shaheen, the current Acting Ambassador of Afghanistan in Doha.
Interestingly, the Taliban regime, which in its earlier period of rule between 1996 and 2001 was animostic towards India, has been forging friendly ties with the country this time.
A few months back, the Taliban regime hosted Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri at the Ministerial level and the two sides discussed how India could continue to provide humanitarian and other assistance to Afghanistan.
It was the first high-level engagement between the two sides since the Islamist organisation, actually known as Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, grabbed power in Kabul in August 2021 after the then elected government of President Ashraf Ghani fell.
The growing closeness between India and the Taliban regime of Afghanistan has caused great unease and unhappiness in Pakistan, which always considered the Islamist organisation IEA as its proxy which could be patronised. (NVI)
