India going to open its embassy in Afghanistan

Ground Report | New Delhi: Indian embassy in Afghanistan; Most of the countries that had vacated their embassies after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August this year, want to show their presence in the country, including India.

According to the report of The Hindu, several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Japan, and the European Union, are looking at the possibility of putting back staff at their embassies in Kabul, while New Delhi is also considering its existing options in Afghanistan.

In November, the UAE resumed operations in Kabul, while embassies in countries such as Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan remained open. Last month, the US and Qatar reached an agreement under which the Qatar embassy in Kabul would lead America's "diplomatic interests".

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One official said that Taliban recognition was a "distant thing" and that no discussions had taken place, although each country was in contact with the Afghan people to decide on their needs. India is also discussing its presence in Afghanistan, particularly due to the difficulties faced by India in sending aid to Afghanistan through Pakistan.

After Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan gave permission to send relief materials, he placed a 'condition' that relief material from Pakistani land would be carried by Pakistani trucks and India would have to transport the goods.

A senior official said, "Establishing a presence in Afghanistan has nothing to do with recognition. It simply means that you will have people on the ground who work with the people to deal with the new regime."

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The official said that the Modi government is not sure about the need to reopen its embassy, ​​but what should be India's strategy is being discussed.

On 15 August, the Indian embassy in Kabul was evacuated within two days of the Taliban taking control of Kabul. According to officials, the embassy and the 'green zone' are closed and have neither been vandalized nor damaged.

Taliban guards are stationed where the embassy is located. India's consulates in Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Jalalabad and Kandahar, where they were located, are completely closed and they were completely evacuated before leaving Afghanistan.

According to officials, there are several options for establishing an Indian presence in Afghanistan, including deploying a team to the UN compound, keeping local Afghan staff, or deploying a small group of diplomats and security personnel to the embassy.

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