The Taliban regime has appointed a young Afghan student in India, Ikramuddin Kamil, as Acting Consul at Afghanistan’s Consulate in Mumbai. This is the first appointment by the Taliban – which New Delhi does not recognise – in India since it took power in Afghanistan in 2021.

India withdrew its diplomats from Kabul and other cities after the takeover and diplomats appointed by the previous Ashraf Ghani government in Afghanistan left India and took asylum in other countries. A lone former diplomat has stayed in India and kept the Afghanistan mission and consulates running.

Mr Kamil’s appointment comes days after a delegation led by JP Singh, joint secretary of the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran division of the external affairs ministry visited Afghanistan and held talks with Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the acting defence minister of the Taliban, in Kabul.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs, announced Mr Kamil’s appointment on X on Tuesday.

Mr Kamil has studied in India for seven years, pursuing a doctorate in law from the South Asia University in Delhi on a scholarship provided by the Ministry of External Affairs. He is reportedly in Mumbai and already carrying out his duties.

While India has not officially reacted, sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Mr Kamil is being seen as an Afghanistani working for Afghans in India and not in terms of any affiliation. 

The sources said Afghan diplomats manning the country’s embassy and consulates in India have sought refuge in different Western countries and have left India. A lone former diplomat has stayed in India and kept the consulates running but, they said, the Afghan community based in India needs consular services and more staff members are required to be able to do so.

“A young Afghan student, who the MEA is familiar with, and who has studied in India for seven years while completing his doctorate from South Asia University on an MEA scholarship, has agreed to function as a diplomat in the Afghan Consulate. As far as his affiliation or status is concerned, for us, he is an Afghan national working for Afghans in India,” a source said. 

To a question on whether this signals that the Taliban would be recognised by India, the source said, “There is a set process for recognition of any Government and India will continue to work with the international community on this issue.”