NEW DELHI: The embassies of China, Iran and India in Kabul face the threat of attack by the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-KP), which has strengthened its capacity faster than anticipated and positioned itself as the primary rival to the Taliban setup in Afghanistan, according to assessments by several countries.
India has had a “technical team” headed by a middle-level diplomat at its embassy in Kabul since late June 2022, when the country re-established a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan after pulling out all officials in the wake of the Taliban takeover in 2021. The embassy is guarded by a contingent of several dozen paramilitary personnel, people familiar with the matter said.
Both a report by the UN Secretary-General on the activities of Islamic State, issued on February 1, and a report by the UN monitoring team, issued on February 13, have referred to the threat of terrorist attacks by IS-KP on the embassies of China, Iran and India.
There was no immediate word from Indian officials on these threats.
However, the people cited above said such threats were factored into all assessments before the decision was made to send the Indian technical team to Kabul. The people pointed out that IS-KP poses a threat to the missions of several countries in Kabul and that the level of threat in the case of certain countries was higher than that for the Indian mission.
All security protocols are strictly followed to ensure the safety of Indian personnel in Kabul, the people said. As of now, there are also no plans to reduce or alter the Indian presence in Kabul. A joint team of Indian diplomats and security officials also made a low-key visit to Kabul recently to make a fresh assessment six months after the reopening of the embassy, the people added.
