Taliban minister’s India visit marks historic diplomatic breakthrough
Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi arrived in India for historic talks, marking the Taliban’s highest-level visit since 2021. Discussions will focus on diplomacy, trade, and regional ties, reflecting growing pragmatism and cautious engagement from both sides.
Building Understanding Between Unlikely Allies
Although India has not formally recognized Afghanistan’s de facto rulers, it remains one of several countries maintaining some form of diplomatic or informal relations with the Taliban. India has a small mission in Kabul and continues to send humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world. This pragmatic engagement reflects New Delhi’s focus on stability, regional security, and the welfare of ordinary Afghans, even in the absence of formal recognition.
The evolving relationship between India’s right-wing Hindu nationalist government and the Islamist Taliban began not long after the group returned to power in Kabul in 2021. Despite deep ideological differences, the two sides have found common ground in diplomacy, humanitarian assistance, and regional strategy. India has carefully calibrated its approach, balancing the need to maintain influence in Afghanistan with concerns over domestic security and regional geopolitics.
This particular visit by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi comes against a backdrop of deteriorating ties between India and Pakistan, and between Pakistan and the Taliban government. Analysts note that the worsening Pakistan-Taliban relationship allows the Taliban to “hedge their bets” and signal that they are no longer entirely dependent on Islamabad for survival. By engaging with India, the Taliban can carve out a separate identity and demonstrate their independence on the international stage.
Deeper engagement with India also helps the Taliban create a perception of legitimacy among their domestic constituents. By fostering diplomatic ties and participating in economic and trade discussions, the group can show Afghan citizens that it is capable of international diplomacy and is taking steps to build a functioning government recognized beyond Pakistan’s influence.
Just over four years ago, such cooperation would have seemed unimaginable. When U.S.-led forces set a withdrawal timeline in 2021, Indian policy circles were gripped by panic. As the Taliban captured Kabul on 15 August 2021, India swiftly shut its embassy and four consulates in Afghanistan. The government stopped issuing visas to Afghans from all walks of life, including students, patients, traders, and former government officials, citing security concerns. In one decisive move, India canceled nearly all visas already issued to thousands of Afghans.
However, within a year, India began re-establishing its diplomatic presence. In June 2022, a “technical team” was sent to Afghanistan to oversee humanitarian aid distribution. This step marked the beginning of a careful reopening of channels for communication and trust-building.
Over the following months, India began issuing visas to influential Taliban figures, government officials, and their family members. Although these visits were largely unofficial and unannounced, they played a crucial role in building mutual understanding. By allowing Taliban representatives to travel to India, New Delhi created space for dialogue, fostering incremental trust that could support broader diplomatic engagement in the future.
In November of the previous year, India permitted the Taliban to appoint an envoy in Delhi and to open consulates, first in Mumbai and later in Hyderabad. These steps signaled a pragmatic recognition that engagement, rather than isolation, might better serve India’s strategic and humanitarian objectives in Afghanistan.
Over the past three years, India and the Taliban have gradually rebuilt ties. High-level meetings have taken place abroad, including discussions between Amir Khan Muttaqi and India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in Dubai in January of this year. Each engagement has provided an opportunity to discuss security, trade, infrastructure, and humanitarian initiatives, steadily creating channels of communication that were previously absent.
Today, India’s approach reflects a combination of pragmatism and realpolitik. While Delhi has not formally recognized the Taliban, its diplomatic and economic engagement demonstrates a willingness to work with the realities on the ground. By fostering understanding with unlikely allies, India is positioning itself to influence Afghanistan’s future while safeguarding its own regional interests and ensuring the well-being of ordinary Afghans.