Taliban’s first envoy arrives in India, new chapter in diplomacy

In October 2025, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttakir (left) was accompanied and included in his delegation during his week-long visit to India.

This is the first time that a diplomat appointed by them in India is going to officially take charge since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. Senior Taliban leader Mufti Noor Ahmad Noor has arrived in New Delhi and will soon take charge as the Charge d'Affaires at the Afghan embassy in the Indian capital.

According to a report by the international media The Independent, he arrived in India earlier this week. He will officially take charge after an internal press conference at the embassy. This is the first diplomatic appointment to take charge in India under the Taliban government.

Mufti Noor Ahmad Noor previously served as the first Director General of the Political Department of the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was also a member of the delegation accompanying Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttahida Qadri to India in October last year. The visit was the first by a Taliban leader since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

Although India has not officially recognized the Taliban government, New Delhi has maintained limited diplomatic ties with Kabul in recent years. India has already allowed Taliban envoys to work in Afghan consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad as part of humanitarian aid, medical services and trade contacts.

The Afghan embassy in New Delhi is still operating under interim arrangements. India closed its embassy in Kabul after the US and NATO forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. However, in 2022, it opened a limited mission and continued humanitarian relief and medical assistance. India announced in October after Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)'s visit that it would reopen its embassy in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, uncertainty has gripped the Delhi embassy over the future of staff employed under the previous government. Some staff fear they could lose their jobs or be forcibly deported to Afghanistan. However, officials familiar with the matter said that for now, the current staff will continue to work and the red-green-black flag of the Afghan Republic will remain on the embassy premises.