ISLAMABAD: Abdul Haq Wasiq, the head of Taliban intelligence, secretly visited India about 10 days ago on an unannounced and unofficial trip and held meetings with Indian security officials and political leaders, security sources said.
Details of this trip and the consultations and potential agreements between Taliban intelligence officials and India have not been disclosed.
According to security sources, Wasiq’s trip was “entirely confidential” and, unlike recent public trips by Taliban officials, no official announcement has been made.
The covert nature of the trip has raised serious questions about what the Taliban intelligence leadership was seeking in India and what was discussed behind closed doors.
رییس استخبارات ط.البان به هند سفر کرد
یک منبع آگاه به ایراف گفت که عبدالحق وثیق، رئیس استخبارات ط.البان، در یک سفر غیرعلنی و بدون اعلام رسمی، حدود ۱۰ روز پیش، وارد هند شده و با مقامهای امنیتی و سیاسی این کشور دیدارهایی انجام داده است.
جزئیات این سفر و رایزنیها و توافقات… pic.twitter.com/MGBttnWkWv
— ایراف (@irafnews) August 29, 2026
India deepens engagement with Taliban
Earlier this month, India signalled a further deepening of its engagement with Taliban authorities by sending a senior Foreign Ministry official to an event in New Delhi marking the fifth anniversary of the group’s return to power.
Anand Prakash, who heads the Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran division at India’s Ministry of External Affairs, represented the Indian government at the ceremony held at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi.
The Taliban organised events in New Delhi and Islamabad to mark the anniversary, two days after the fifth anniversary of its takeover of Afghanistan.
Addressing the New Delhi gathering, Noor Ahmad Noor, the Taliban’s chargé d’affaires in India, said increasing political trust, expanding economic cooperation and sustained engagement between Afghanistan and India served the interests of both countries.
Noor thanked India’s Ministry of External Affairs and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar for what he described as their support for Afghanistan’s international rights. He called for greater Indian backing for Afghanistan.
Growing engagement
The Indian government has not formally recognised the Taliban administration, but relations between the two sides have gradually expanded.
The Taliban has strengthened its diplomatic presence in New Delhi, while India has also increased the level of its diplomatic representation in Kabul. Last year, India allowed Taliban-appointed diplomats to assume control of the Afghan embassy in New Delhi.
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The developments have enabled the two sides to maintain official contacts despite New Delhi’s continued refusal to formally recognise the Taliban government.
The Afghan national flag remains displayed at the embassy in New Delhi, while Taliban representatives have been allowed to organise events and meetings at the diplomatic mission under the group’s own flag.
High-level Taliban visits to India have also increased in recent months. Among the most prominent were Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to New Delhi in October 2025 and Industry and Commerce Minister Nooruddin Azizi’s visit the following month.
