From Silence To Signals: India’s Diplomatic Calculus With The Taliban

New Delhi: India’s decades-old Afghan policy entered a new phase this week as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar engaged directly with Taliban-appointed Acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi on Thursday, just weeks after the devastating Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.

Muttaqi’s condemnation of the attack was diplomatically significant, offering New Delhi a potential channel to press its counterterrorism concerns. While formal recognition of the Taliban regime remains off the table, India appears to be pursuing a strategy of pragmatic engagement, aimed at preventing Afghan soil from once again becoming a launchpad for anti-India terror.

“Good conversation with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi this evening,” Jaishankar posted on his X handle late Thursday night. “Deeply appreciate his condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Welcomed his firm rejection of recent attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan through false and baseless reports. Underlined our traditional friendship with the Afghan people and continuing support for their development needs. Discussed ways and means of taking cooperation forward.”

On its part, the Afghan Foreign Ministry stated on X that the discussion between Jaishankar and Muttaqi focused on enhancing bilateral relations, promoting trade, and upgrading diplomatic engagement between the two countries.

“Calling India a key regional country with historical relation with Afghanistan, FM Muttaqi expressed hope for further strengthening relations, reiterating Afghanistan’s commitment to a balanced foreign policy and constructive engagement with all sides,” the Ministry stated.

According to the Ministry, Muttaqi urged Jaishankar to streamline the issuance of visas for Afghan businessmen and patients, as well as the release and repatriation of Afghan prisoners in India.

“Recognising the longstanding relations between India and Afghanistan, Dr Jaishankar reaffirmed India’s ongoing support for Afghanistan, highlighting joint efforts in the political and economic spheres,” the post on X reads. “He also pledged to accelerate the resolution of Afghan prisoners’ cases and enhance the visa issuance process.”

It added that the conversation ended with both sides underscoring the importance of further developing the Chabahar Port in Iran.

This is the first time that India’s External Affairs Minister engaged directly with the Taliban Foreign Minister since the Islamic fundamentalist group recaptured power in Kabul in August 2021. The last such political engagement took place in December 1999 when then External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh held a meeting with then Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil at Kandahar airport following the hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight IC-814 by Pakistani terrorists.

India’s diplomatic posture toward Afghanistan has undergone a gradual but significant recalibration since the Taliban’s return to power. Initially cautious and non-committal, New Delhi has, over the past two years, moved toward limited but deliberate engagement with the Taliban regime. This shift has been shaped by strategic imperatives, chief among them being regional stability, counterterrorism, and safeguarding Indian interests in Afghanistan.

In June 2022, India reopened its diplomatic mission in Kabul in the form of a “technical team” within the embassy - signalling a willingness to engage without formal recognition. Since then, Indian diplomats have held several rounds of quiet discussions with Taliban officials focused on humanitarian aid, infrastructure projects, and the security of Indian assets and personnel in Afghanistan.

In January this year, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held a meeting with Muttaqi in Dubai. According to a statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry, the two sides discussed various issues pertaining to bilateral relations as well as regional developments. The Foreign Secretary underlined India’s historic friendship with the Afghan people and the strong people-to-people contacts between the two countries. In this context, he conveyed India’s readiness to respond to the urgent developmental needs of the Afghan people. The Afghan side underlined its sensitivities to India’s security concerns. The two sides agreed to remain in touch and continue regular contact at various levels.

Then, on April 28, just days after the Pahalgam attack, M Anand Prakash, Joint Secretary in charge of the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran division in the External Affairs Ministry, held a meeting with Muttaqi in Kabul. During the meeting, both sides held discussions on strengthening bilateral political relations, enhancing trade and transit cooperation, and exchanging views on recent regional developments. The two sides also stressed the importance of enhancing bilateral engagements, streamlining visa procedures, promoting the exchange of delegations, and strengthening cooperation in various fields.

India’s outreach also stems from a desire to avoid being strategically outflanked. Pakistan has been maintaining deep relations with the Taliban though now these are declining, and China has ramped up its presence in Afghanistan, securing mining rights and brokering infrastructure deals.

“Jaishankar’s conversation with Muttaqi is of critical importance for India as you have seen that in the recent war (Operation Sindoor), Pakistan went on an all-out offensive against India,” Abhinav Pandya, founder, director and CEO of the Udaipur-based Usanas Foundation think tank, told ETV Bharat. “Pakistan had some international backers like China, Turkey and Azerbaijan. Even the West had its stance very confused with some likely tilted towards Pakistan. So, I think India needs friends to weaken Pakistan.”

Pandya said that India needs to empower and strengthen the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and the Balochis and other entities.

“Ideologically, we may have differences with them but we should welcome them as the Taliban regime has condemned the Pahalgam terror attack,” he stated. “They are facing a major humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. India should continue its humanitarian work in Afghanistan and provide food supplies of at least 5,000 tonnes of wheat and rice so that the regime can stabilise. That can be an effective way of building pressure on Pakistan.”

He further stated that against India’s efforts, China and Pakistan have already started their own work in Afghanistan.

“They have instructed the Afghan regime to keep Indian presence confined to the embassy and consulates only,” Pandya said. “But I guess we also need to ramp up our efforts to increase our presence in Afghanistan and strengthen the Taliban regime against Pakistan.”

According to Smruti Pattanaik, a Research Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses who specialises in South Asia, India’s contact with the Taliban has been evolving ever since it recaptured power in August 2021.

“Unlike during the first Taliban regime between 1996 and 2001, India is keen to keep contact with them,” Pattanaik said.

She explained that Afghanistan has been supporting India’s stance in regional geopolitics.

“The Taliban are no longer hosting and training terrorists targeting India,” she said. “They are eager to engage with India.”

Pattanaik explained that, unlike Pakistan, Afghanistan serves as a link between India and Central Asia.

“Due to the deterioration of diplomatic ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Taliban are trying to engage with India,” she explained. “The Taliban do not want to be guided by Pakistan on their India policy. India and Afghanistan share historical ties.”

To sum up, India’s outreach to the Taliban, especially in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, reflects a realist shift in foreign policy, one that prioritises national security, regional influence, and pragmatic diplomacy over rigid ideological positions. As the situation in Afghanistan remains fluid and fraught with uncertainty, India’s calibrated engagement model may offer the best path for managing threats while preserving long-term interests.