Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi In India: Former Diplomats Explain Significance Of Visit
Afghan Foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi arrived in India on Friday for a week-long visit, in a bid for international recognition of the Taliban regime.
Published : October 11, 2025 at 3:07 PM IST
New Delhi: As Afghanistan Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi proceeds with his week-long visit to India, the first ministerial level visit since the Taliban took over in 2021, two former diplomats have weighed in on the significance of Muttaqi's visit.
Muttaqi, who arrived in New Delhi on Friday held a meeting with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar in the national capital. In a post on X, Jaishankar said that the Afghan Foreign Minister's visit marks an “important step in advancing our ties and affirming the enduring India-Afghanistan friendship”.
“Discussed India’s support for Afghanistan’s development, our bilateral trade, territorial integrity & independence, people-to-people ties and capacity building. India will upgrade its Technical Mission in Kabul to the status of Embassy of India,” he said.
India’s relations with its neighboring country had soured after the first Taliban regime came to power in 2021. The relations are now warming again under the second Taliban government. Although India has not yet officially recognized the Taliban regime, Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister's visit signals a strategic engagement for both the countries.
In a special converstion with ETV Bharat, former Ambassador and diplomat T.P. Sreenivasan said that India’s opportunity to establish relations with the Afghan government has come because Afghanistan has fallen out with Pakistan. He stated that India has not delayed in engaging with the neighbouring country.
“India never had a cordial relationship with the Taliban. We disagree with their laws and their attitude toward women. Except for Russia, no country has officially recognized the Taliban government, and India too hasn’t recognized them yet,” Sreenivasan said.
The former diplomat said that generally, the internal issues of a country do not affect India's diplomatic ties. “Our policy is to recognize whoever comes to power. But there have been exceptions — for instance, we didn’t recognize the Cambodian government once, nor the Fijian government for a while when I served as a diplomat. Ties with Afghanistan will, however, be beneficial for India,” he said.
According to Sreenivasan, while Afghanistan and India share longstanding mutual interests, China has been deeply involved in Afghanistan’s oil and mineral sectors. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Amu Darya basin—spanning Afghanistan and Tajikistan—holds around 962 million barrels of crude oil and 52 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. China is targeting these rich natural resources as per Sreenivasan.
Since the Taliban returned to power, China has shown the most favorable approach, largely due to its growing demand for lithium and other minerals. Afghanistan lacks the expertise and infrastructure to commercialize its mining industry without foreign help, making China an eager partner. The Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Company (CAPEIC) signed a 25-year oil extraction agreement with the Taliban authorities — investing $150 million in the first year, and up to $540 million by 2026.
India, on the other hand, wants to ensure that China does not fully exploit Afghanistan’s resources. Strengthening ties with Kabul also serves India’s strategic and economic interests. India has already carried out several major development projects in Afghanistan — including constructing the Afghan Parliament building in Kabul, a $90 million gift completed in 2014 and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015.
“By hosting the Taliban minister in India, New Delhi has given them international legitimacy. This visit could mark the beginning of India’s formal recognition of the Taliban government,” said Sreenivasan.
Former ambassador and foreign policy expert K.P. Fabian believes India should have engaged with the Taliban much earlier:
“When the Taliban took over Afghanistan, India should have immediately established contact. Diplomacy means maintaining relations with whoever is in power. Instead of avoiding them over internal issues like women’s rights violations, India should have used engagement to urge change. It’s good that the mistake is being corrected now,” he Fabian told ETV Bharat.
He said that relations between India and Pakistan are tense, while Pakistan’s ties with China and its military cooperation are strengthening. “At the same time, U.S.–Pakistan relations are improving, partly due to Donald Trump’s business interests. In this context, improving ties with Afghanistan is a positive step for India,” he said.
“When the Taliban first came to power, Pakistan’s ISI served as their advisor. But now that relationship has weakened. Hence, India engaging with Afghanistan is in its national interest. Not engaging would be foolish.”
Fabian also highlighted India’s historical connection with Afghanistan. “We have an old and emotional relationship with Afghanistan. The Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital still operates there, though it faced difficulties after the Taliban takeover. India should have offered to send doctors and medical supplies and insisted that women be allowed to work there. What we need is imaginative diplomacy,” he said.
The context also involves recent global developments. Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s remark that America might reclaim the Bagram Airbase, the Taliban responded firmly that it couldn’t be taken militarily. Recently, when Afghanistan distanced itself from Pakistan over the Pahalgam attack, it signaled readiness for diplomatic engagement with India.
“India’s move to engage with Afghanistan is positive. However, we need to handle other diplomatic fronts more effectively. We could have maintained a better relationship with Trump,” Fabian said.
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