Taliban Foreign Minister Visits India: A Strategic Shift in India-Afghanistan Relations:

In a move that would have seemed improbable just a few years ago, Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has arrived in India for a high-level, week-long diplomatic visit. This marks the Taliban’s most senior delegation to India since the group took power in Afghanistan in 2021. Muttaqi, accompanied by officials from the Taliban’s foreign and trade ministries, is scheduled to meet Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and other senior officials in Delhi. The talks will focus on trade, regional security, and bilateral cooperation, signaling a major shift in India's Afghan policy. The visit reflects a pragmatic recalibration of India’s approach to Afghanistan, moving from staunch support of the previous Western-backed Afghan government to cautious engagement with the Taliban regime. While India has not officially recognized the Taliban government, it has maintained an informal diplomatic presence and continues to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan—one of the world’s poorest nations. Muttaqi's trip to India comes after receiving a temporary travel exemption from United Nations sanctions. He flew to Delhi from Moscow, which notably remains the only country so far to fully recognize the Taliban government. The timing is crucial, as Afghanistan’s ties with longtime ally Pakistan have significantly deteriorated, while India has steadily increased its diplomatic outreach to Kabul. Experts suggest the Taliban's engagement with India is part of a broader effort to reduce dependency on Pakistan. “The deterioration in ties with Pakistan allows the Taliban to hedge their bets and build independent international relationships,” analysts Harsh V. Pant and Shivam Shekhawat wrote for NDTV. The Taliban’s ties with Islamabad have soured in recent months, especially over accusations that Afghanistan is harboring the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), which has carried out attacks across the border. In response, Pakistan has launched air strikes on Afghan soil, further straining relations. Against this backdrop, India’s deepening engagement with the Taliban offers both sides strategic advantages. For the Taliban, cultivating relations with India lends a degree of international legitimacy. For India, the priority is national security—ensuring that Afghan soil is not used by anti-India terror outfits such as Islamic State or al-Qaeda. “India is pursuing its national interests through pragmatic engagement,” said strategic analyst Brahma Chellaney. He views the visit as part of a “cautious reset” in India-Taliban relations and a sign of shifting regional power dynamics. India’s outreach to the Taliban began discreetly after the group’s takeover of Kabul. In 2022, India sent a “technical team” to reopen its diplomatic mission in Kabul to oversee aid distribution. Since then, India has issued visas to Taliban officials and their families and allowed the group to appoint diplomats in Delhi and open consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad. These steps, though low-key, have laid the groundwork for more structured talks like Muttaqi’s current visit. Indian officials have also met with Taliban representatives abroad, including a meeting between Muttaqi and Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in Dubai earlier this year. India and Pakistan have historically vied for influence in Afghanistan, with India backing anti-Taliban factions and Islamabad long accused of supporting the group. Now, with Taliban-Pakistan relations on the decline, India sees an opportunity to increase its strategic footprint in the region. Despite the warming ties, both sides remain cautious. The relationship is still tactical, shaped by historical mistrust and geopolitical calculations. But one thing is clear: realpolitik is guiding this engagement, with both India and the Taliban seeking to secure their strategic interests in an evolving regional landscape. As the region watches closely, this visit could signal the beginning of a new chapter in India-Afghanistan relations—one rooted in pragmatism rather than ideology.

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