India denies recognising the Taliban after members attend management course

People query diplomatic stance after members of the Afghan group attended a course on doing business with India

Members of the Taliban attended a course that introduces participants to the Indian business and cultural scene. EPA

India has reiterated its position that it does not recognise the Taliban government in Kabul following controversy this week after some members of the group attended a course organised through India’s Foreign Ministry.

New Delhi has refused to acknowledge the group as the legitimate government of Afghanistan but has maintained diplomatic ties and people-to-people contact since the group's takeover of the country in 2021.

The members of the Taliban in Kabul ― along with other Afghan citizens ― attended a four-day online course on Tuesday titled Immersing with Indian thoughts, an India Immersion Programme, hosted by the prestigious Indian Institute of Management in Kozhikode.

The course aims to give a deeper grasp of Indian business, environment, culture, history and regulatory ecosystem and is conducted under the Indian technical and economic co-operation programme run by the Ministry of External Affairs.

The engagement of the Taliban ruffled feathers and raised questions over whether New Delhi had changed its position.

India's Foreign Ministry representative Arindam Bagchi on Thursday, however, reiterated that there has been no change in India’s position towards the Taliban regime.

“Our position on how we see developments in Afghanistan has not changed and I don't think anything should be read into ITEC courses vis-a-vis that. We certainly would not be issuing notes verbally, which are intergovernmental notes to, you know, entities that are not recognised. So I will not have anything further to say."

Mr Bagchi said that the ITEC program was a capacity-building platform extended to developing countries, including Afghanistan.

“India has been extending capacity-building assistance to developing countries across the world through what is called the Indian Technical and Economic Co-operation Programme. This includes online courses also ... on numerous topics and they are conducted by different Indian institutions,” he said.

“These scholarship courses are open to nationals of various countries, including those from Afghanistan, and a number of Afghan nationals both based in India as well as in Afghanistan have been participating in these ITEC courses. Of course, the online courses do not involve travel to India.”

India delivered tonnes of medicines to Afghanistan during the pandemic, although it does not officially recognised the Taliban government. AP

India historically shunned the Islamist group that it views as having close ties with its arch-rival Pakistan and instead favoured non-Taliban groups that came to power after the US-led coalition toppled the Taliban regime in 2001.

New Delhi re-opened its diplomatic mission in Afghanistan in June last year after a “technical team” arrived at its embassy in Kabul nearly a year after it closed the consulate following the Taliban's dramatic takeover of the war-torn country.

India has been sending humanitarian aid to the country including its recent announcement of sending 20,000 metric tonnes of wheat as part of its partnership with the UN World Food Programme.

It has also allocated $25 million in funds for Afghanistan during this year’s budget as development aid, raising expectations that New Delhi was changing its stance on the regime.