When External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Amir Khan Muttaqi, Taliban’s acting foreign minister, on October 9, the gesture carried quiet significance. India’s announcement to upgrade its diplomatic presence in Kabul, after years of a minimal, technical mission, was officially framed as a “people-centric” move aimed at humanitarian cooperation. Yet, beneath the language of humanitarian engagement lies a deeper legal and diplomatic question: Is New Delhi inching towards an implied recognition of the Taliban government?

Recognition by conduct
In international law, recognition is not merely a political declaration but a legal act, as legal scholar Pavle Kilibarda explains in Recognition of States in International Law (2024). Recognition may be express, through formal statements, or implicit, when a state’s conduct leaves no doubt that it accepts another’s legal personality. Acts such as entering into treaties, accrediting diplomats, or establishing embassies are typically considered “conclusive facts” that precondition acceptance of statehood.