The Indian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has invited Taliban envoy Badruddin Haqqani for the Republic Day celebrations in Abu Dhabi.
Badruddin Haqqani, one of Jalaluddin Haqqani’s sons, was appointed ambassador in October 2023.
His brother Sirajuddin Haqqani is the Interior Minister of Afghanistan. The Haqqani network, one of the key leaders of the Taliban, 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 Sanjay Sudhir has been tweeted by Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwari. He now lives outside Afghanistan. Indian Express has confirmed this in one of its reports.
The Indian government has been engaged with the Taliban ever since it sent a technical team and reopened the Indian embassy in Kabul. Sources said the invitation to Badruddin Haqqani is in line with that.
The sources said the invitation was addressed to the envoy of the “Islamic Republic of Afghanistan”. The Taliban refers to itself as the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.” ,
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan” was represented by then President Ashraf Ghani.
Proceeding cautiously on this issue, India is in talks with the Taliban in Kabul, but has not yet given diplomatic recognition to the Taliban regime.
Afghanistan’s Consul General in Mumbai and Hyderabad had announced in November last year that they would keep the Afghan embassy in New Delhi open.
It has also been said that the flag of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan will be hoisted at the Afghan Embassy in India.
The embassy will continue to use the old nomenclature Islamic Republic of Afghanistan instead of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
It is understood that India has conveyed its stand to the new leadership team.
The Afghan Consul General has assured the Foreign Ministry officials that they will follow these rules.