Harish Kumar, a senior officer of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and liaison officer at the Indian embassy in Kabul, has been expelled from Afghanistan, according to sources.

Kumar’s passport number is D1156181 and he is a resident of Himachal Pradesh. Afghan authorities declared him persona non grata and ordered his immediate departure.

The expulsion follows accusations that Kumar met with Afghans connected to the Pakistani Taliban and anti-Taliban elements in Kabul, allegedly mobilizing them. Kumar was appointed to his Kabul post after the Taliban takeover.

Following a trip to Delhi and subsequently Qatar, where he met with anti-Taliban Afghan leaders to discuss a postponed conference planned for Pakistan, Kumar attempted to arrange an alternative location in either Qatar or Dubai. He returned to Kabul on August 13. On August 15, he was meeting with several Afghan anti-Taliban residents at a restaurant in Shahre Naw, Kabul, when the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) raided the establishment and arrested the Afghan nationals.

On August 16, Taliban authorities summoned Indian embassy officials to inform them of Kumar’s expulsion. He departed for Delhi on August 17.