A Taliban representative taking charge at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi is part of a series of breakthroughs achieved in the India-Taliban ties, experts told Sputnik India.
The move comes after important visits by Taliban ministers to India, including Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's week-long tour in October 2025. Subsequently, the Taliban commerce minister and health minister also visited India.
"The move to station a Taliban representative in New Delhi will provide a fillip to the budding or warming equations between Kabul and New Delhi. It is now possible to achieve better cohesion and coordination in bilateral interactions between the two countries," Dr Priyanka Singh, an Afghan expert linked to India's premier defence think tank, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), stated.
India has major stakes in Afghanistan, being the largest regional donor. Unlike in past, today, the Taliban 2.0, in power for 4 years, are looking confident and willing to engage the outside world. Therefore, the time is ripe for India and Afghanistan to forge comprehensive, meaningful partnerships across sectors, the strategic affairs commentator underscored.
"Acting as the key conduit, a Taliban diplomat in New Delhi entails enhanced cooperation in counter terror initiatives, intelligence sharing and coordination of joint mechanisms," Singh explained. "Plus, it will boost India-Afghanistan trade ties by enabling wide-ranging talks on how to increase the quantum and quality of trade relations between the two sides."
India-Taliban relations have seen notable changes, occurring against the backdrop of the Taliban’s strained ties with Islamabad, the international relations expert noted.
"Quite obviously, Pakistan may not be too happy with the India-Taliban thaw. Pakistan considered the Taliban as their pawn till Afghanistan resisted it and refused to blindly fulfil Islamabad's list of demands," Singh suggested.
Russia currently maintains positive relations with the Taliban, having been among the first first countries to recognise the current Afghan government, she further said. As a long-standing strategic partner of India, Moscow is likely to welcome any moves to strengthen ties between New Delhi and the Taliban, the analyst summed up.