Earlier this year foreign secretary Vikram Misri met Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi

India has executed a significant diplomatic manoeuvre by engaging directly with the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan, especially in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. This move comes at a time when Pakistan, long considered the Taliban’s patron for strategic depth against India, is grappling with both diplomatic isolation and a persistent Taliban-linked insurgency in its Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region.

Following the Pahalgam attack, which the Taliban government in Kabul publicly condemned, India dispatched a high-level delegation to meet with the Taliban’s top leadership in Kabul. The Indian team, led by Joint Secretary M Anand Prakash, discussed recent regional developments, bilateral ties, trade, and transit with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

The Taliban’s condemnation of the Pahalgam attack and their assurances that Afghan soil would not be used to threaten other countries signalled a willingness to recalibrate ties with India, marking a stark shift from the past when the Taliban were closely aligned with Islamabad.

This outreach is particularly notable given that India had severed formal ties with Kabul after the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021. The renewed engagement is seen as a tactical move to regain lost influence in Afghanistan and counterbalance both Pakistan and China’s growing presence in the region. The Taliban, for their part, have expressed interest in strengthening political and economic ties with India, viewing New Delhi as a significant regional partner.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s relationship with the Taliban has deteriorated due to several factors:

Islamabad’s mass expulsion of Afghan refugees

Persistent accusations that the Afghan Taliban are harbouring the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which continues to launch attacks inside Pakistan

Ongoing border disputes and diplomatic friction, highlighted by Pakistan’s recent attempts to rally international support and bolster its military posture along the Afghan border

India’s Kabul diplomacy has further isolated Pakistan, which now finds itself in a precarious position-losing leverage over the Taliban while facing increased terrorist threats at home. By briefing diplomats from 25 countries, including G20 and Gulf nations, on the Pahalgam attack and its zero-tolerance policy on terrorism, India has sought to build broader international support for its stance.

India’s engagement with the Taliban after the Pahalgam attack represents a calculated diplomatic coup. It not only undermines Pakistan’s long-standing strategy of using Afghan territory and actors for leverage against India but also positions New Delhi as a pragmatic and influential player in Afghanistan’s future. The Taliban’s overtures to India, coupled with their condemnation of terrorism in Kashmir, have further complicated Islamabad’s regional calculus, pushing Pakistan into a diplomatic and strategic corner.

Agencies