India’s engagement with Afghanistan has entered a new, delicate phase characterised by pragmatism and strategic recalibration rather than ideology or historical legacy. This shift is embodied by the recent historic visit of Amir Khan Muttaqi, Afghanistan’s Taliban-led interim foreign minister, to New Delhi—the first such high-level contact since the Taliban takeover in 2021.

The roots of this engagement are intertwined with the 1999 Indian Airlines flight IC 814 hijacking, negotiated in part by India’s current National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and then-Taliban official Muttaqi. Over two decades later, these two figures now symbolise a complex diplomatic reality where dialogue with the Taliban is unavoidable yet fraught with delicate considerations.

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 was a watershed that left a void, creating both threat and opportunity in regional dynamics. While many neighbours like Iran and Central Asian states quickly moved to engage economically, India adopted a long-term, cautious approach aimed at consolidating a diplomatic footprint and developmental presence in Kabul.

This month’s visit by Muttaqi marked a pivotal step in this strategy, alongside India’s announcement to upgrade its Kabul technical mission to full embassy status.

For the Taliban, India’s overture is a significant political victory: India’s economic clout and development aid provide crucial support amid Afghanistan’s isolation, economic hardship, and internal governance challenges.

The Taliban leadership under figures like Mullah Baradar and Muttaqi projects a pragmatic ideological stance, increasingly aligned with power centres like Kandahar under emir-ul-momineen Hibatullah Akhundzada, who now exerts more influence over Kabul’s policy direction.

New Delhi’s engagement with Kabul today is deeply influenced by a shared concern: Pakistan. Since 2021, India’s contacts with Taliban leaders began cautiously, with key diplomatic meetings such as Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s January 2021 encounter with Muttaqi in Dubai.

Operation Sindoor and complex Taliban-Pakistan relations, involving security issues and familial feuds, have accelerated these ties. The Taliban’s condemnation of terror attacks in Kashmir and denial of Pakistani claims about Indian missile activities in Afghanistan further solidify this unlikely but pragmatic convergence.

In May 2025, India’s Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar spoke with Muttaqi by phone, and now India has granted the Taliban institutional access by hosting Muttaqi in New Delhi. The Indian government emphasises that this engagement is pragmatic and necessary to safeguard its strategic interests in the region, especially in light of deteriorating India-Pakistan relations and China’s increasing influence in Afghanistan.

India does not formally recognise the Taliban government and continues to be concerned about human rights issues, including women’s rights and minority protections. However, India’s approach balances principle with realpolitik, maintaining support for humanitarian and development projects in Afghanistan, while asserting its commitment to Afghanistan’s sovereignty and peace.

This diplomatic shift reflects a broader regional reality: India and the Taliban both seek to lessen Pakistan’s influence on Afghanistan.

The historic visit and reopening of India’s embassy in Kabul mark a cautious but clear entry by India into a new chapter of Afghanistan policy—one marked by pragmatism and converging strategic interests amid continuing uncertainties.

India’s evolving relationship with the Taliban-led government is not an endorsement but a strategic necessity to maintain influence, counter regional threats, and promote stability.

The diplomatic dance between New Delhi and Kabul is a careful balancing act amid a complex geopolitical environment dominated by competing interests from Pakistan, China, Iran, and regional powers, all converging on Afghanistan.​

Agencies