Indian Drivers and Afghanistan 2026: No Treaty, Keep Right

An Indian licence holder looking at a drive in Afghanistan meets two hard facts before any question of speed limits: there is no treaty that makes Indian driving papers valid there, and the government travel advice that does exist is about danger on the road, not paperwork.

The paperwork gap

India is a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention on road traffic and issues its international driving permits under it. The UN Treaty Collection lists Afghanistan as a party to neither the 1949 nor the 1968 convention. A permit from an Indian RTO therefore has no treaty standing in Afghanistan, and nothing obliges a checkpoint or hire firm to accept it. The Driving Permit Checker covers countries where an Indian licence or IDP is recognised.

In practice that means your papers are only as good as the person reading them. Nobody can promise that a rental firm, a police officer or a roadside checkpoint will accept an Indian licence plus IDP, and GOV.UK says nothing on the subject. Do not buy a permit and assume the question is settled.

Can you get there by road from India?

The most common question that brings readers to this page is whether you can travel to Afghanistan from India by road. We hold no information on a usable overland route, and the official advice points the other way. GOV.UK advises against all travel to Afghanistan, calls road travel highly dangerous, and says border crossings are volatile and can close at short notice. If you are researching a journey, read the FCDO page itself, which is updated more often than this one.

Road conditions

The UK Foreign Office warns that mobile and internet services may be cut without warning, so a phone map app cannot be relied on. Photographing government buildings, military sites or Taliban checkpoints can lead to detention. The Taliban have made it illegal for women to travel more than 72 km without a male relative, and our record notes that, as of 2024, the right to drive is not extended to women.

Switching to the right

India drives on the left; Afghanistan drives on the right. Junctions, overtaking and roundabouts all reverse, and the reflex glance at a crossing points the wrong way.

If you are weighing a trip anyway

Before anything else, read the FCDO’s current page, because its advice against all travel is the starting point for any plan. Check what your own government says as well, and treat the limits on women’s travel as a hard constraint for anyone in your party. A driver who cannot show a recognised permit is exposed at every checkpoint, and nothing in our sources suggests a way to fix that from India. If you need to move around the country, ask a licensed local operator what is realistic at the time you travel; do not plan on the basis of a map or an old forum post.

Alcohol

India’s limit is 30 mg per 100 ml of blood under section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act. In Afghanistan the question does not arise: GOV.UK says alcohol may not be used or brought into the country, and you could be arrested.

Numbers and kit compared with home

At home an Indian driver dials 100 for police, 101 for fire and 108 for an ambulance, with 112 as the general number. GOV.UK lists 119 for the police in Afghanistan, and we hold no confirmed number for ambulance or fire, so do not rely on the 112 shown in our record for those two. India requires a fire extinguisher and a first-aid kit in the car; our records hold no Afghan equipment list.

The Afghanistan driving guide has the rest of what is known.

Whatever your plans, tell family or your embassy where you are going and keep their contact details somewhere other than your phone, since GOV.UK warns that mobile and internet services may be cut without warning. Do not rely on a single copy of any document.

Sources

• UN Treaty Collection, 1949 Convention on Road Traffic (India party; Afghanistan absent): treaties.un.org
• UN Treaty Collection, 1968 Convention on Road Traffic (Afghanistan and India absent): treaties.un.org
• GOV.UK foreign travel advice, Afghanistan (advice against all travel): gov.uk
• GOV.UK foreign travel advice, Afghanistan safety and security (road travel highly dangerous; border crossings; alcohol ban; checkpoints; women’s travel limit; communications cut-offs): gov.uk
• GOV.UK foreign travel advice, Afghanistan getting help (police 119): gov.uk
• India Code, Motor Vehicles Act 1988, section 185 (30 mg per 100 ml): indiacode.nic.in