The Indian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has invited Taliban’s envoy, Badruddin Haqqani, for the Republic Day celebrations in Abu Dhabi. Badruddin Haqqani, one of the sons of Jalaluddin Haqqani, was appointed Ambassador in October 2023. His brother, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is the Interior Minister of Afghanistan. Among the prominent leaders of the Taliban, the Haqqani network was involved in several terror attacks, including on the Indian Embassy in Kabul in 2008. A copy of the invitation, issued in the name of Indian Ambassador to UAE Sunjay Sudhir, was tweeted by Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary, who is now based outside of Afghanistan. The Indian Express verified the invite. Significant improvements in relations between Taliban and Prime minister Modi’s government at every level. This time, the Indian Ambassador in the UAE extended an invitation to the Taliban's envoy “Excellency Badrudin Haqqani” and his spouse for the Republic Day’s celebrations… pic.twitter.com/MA0Pv7FGNc — BILAL SARWARY (@bsarwary) January 20, 2024 New Delhi’s view is that the Indian government has been engaging with the Taliban ever since it sent a technical team and reopened the Indian Embassy in Kabul. So the invitation to Badruddin Haqqani is in sync with that approach, sources said. Sources said the invitation was addressed to the envoy of the “Islamic Republic of Afghanistan”. The Taliban represents itself as the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”; the “Islamic Republic of Afghanistan” was represented by erstwhile President Ashraf Ghani. Treading carefully on the issue, India has been engaging with the Taliban in Kabul, but has not yet granted diplomatic recognition to the Taliban regime. The Indian government is following the same template as the international community – they engage with the Taliban, but have not granted them official recognition as per the UN. With Afghanistan’s Consuls General in Mumbai and Hyderabad declaring in November last year that they would keep the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi open and functional – its closure was announced by Farid Mamundzay, the ousted government’s Ambassador to India, who called the Consuls General representatives of the Taliban – the Indian government, it is learnt, is looking at three broad indicators that do not, in any way, amount to de facto recognition of the Taliban regime by India. First, the new leadership team will continue to hoist the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan tricolour flag, and not the Taliban white flag with the Shahada inscription in black in the centre. Second, the Embassy will continue to use the old nomenclature – the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, instead of the Taliban's Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Third, new diplomats from the Taliban regime will not be sent to be part of the Afghan Embassy in Delhi or the consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad. India’s red-lines are learnt to have been conveyed to the new leadership team, and the Afghan Consuls General have assured officials in the Ministry of External Affairs that they will abide by these rules. India has been treading carefully, not labelling them as Taliban representatives if they adhere to these commitments.
