Why Was Top Taliban Leader Mullah Mohammad Ibrahim Sadr In Delhi Post Pahalgam Attack? What We Know

New Delhi: Top Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Ibrahim Sadr visited India after Pahalgam terror attack, signalling potential recalibration between Taliban and New Delhi amid peak tensions with Pakistan.

Sources in Kabul claim that Mullah Mohammad Ibrahim Sadr, Taliban’s Deputy Interior Minister, arrived in New Delhi on May 3, just days after the Pahalgam massacre. Ibrahim Sadr, known to be close to the Taliban’s supreme leader, wields significant influence over the group’s security apparatus.

The Taliban leader is reportedly not closely aligned with Pakistan, given Islamabad’s long-standing interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.

Speculation is mounting that Ibrahim Sadr’s presence in India may indicate a strategic shift by New Delhi during heightened tensions with Islamabad.

Reacting to the development, sources from the Taliban’s foreign ministry stated that they are engaging with India at multiple levels. They further clarified that Ibrahim Sadr’s visit was a follow-up to an earlier Indian foreign ministry delegation trip to Kabul.

Mullah Mohammad Ibrahim Sadr, also known as Sadr Ibrahim, was appointed Deputy Minister of Interior in 2021.

Sadr Ibrahim is the head of internal security in Taliban and is responsible for activities of all 34 provincial chiefs of police across the country.

Sadr Ibrahim Known for his hardline military stance, was previously head of Taliban’s military commission from 2016 to 2020.

Ibrahim Sadr headed Taliban’s offensive in southern Helmand province from May 2021 until Taliban’s took over Afghanistan in August 2021.

Previously in 1990, Sadr Ibrahim served as Deputy Defence Minister under the Taliban’s regime.

In 2001, Sadr led Taliban’s military movement in Peshawar, Pakistan directing Taliban’s military activities in significant regions, including Kandahar, Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar, and Kabul provinces.

Mullah Mohammad Ibrahim Sadr is known for his close relations with Iran’s security apparatus and has good working relations with Afghanistan’s security apparatus too. Sadr Ibrahim is one of the strongest critics of Pakistan and is close to Hibatullah Akhundzada.

Though there is no official word from the government or Taliban as to why Sadr Ibrahim was in India days after Pahalgam terror attack, his visit at a time when India-Pakistan tensions are heightened is creating massive buzz, as New Delhi is taking on Pakistan both militarily and diplomatically.

Some reports have suggested that Sadr Ibrahim’s visit may have focussed on border security, counterterrorism cooperation or infrastructure deals while many belief there is something deep behind his visit.