Analysis: Ties With Taliban Part Of India’s Policy Of Strategic Pragmatism In Afghanistan
India needs to ensure that Afghan territory is not misused by forces inimical to India's national interests.
Published : October 14, 2025 at 8:13 AM IST
The Afghan Foreign Minister, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi's recent visit to India, a first of its kind, marks the culmination of India's incremental engagement with the Taliban, a process that has been underway through various channels since at least June 2022.
The visit is unique in the sense that a Taliban leader at the level of Foreign Minister was invited for interaction with his Indian counterpart in New Delhi, even though India, like most of the global players, has not yet accorded diplomatic recognition to the Taliban led government in Afghanistan.
Brief Background
Taliban is considered an ultra-radical Islamic organisation, proscribed by the UN. It first rose to power in 1996 in the wake of civil war in Afghanistan, following the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan in 1989. Later, the Taliban was driven out of power by the military intervention by the US and allies in 2001, who accused the Taliban of providing sanctuary to the masterminds of the deadliest 9/11 terror attacks on the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon in the US.
Once the Taliban regime was driven out, a democratic government was established in Afghanistan, which enjoyed recognition by the international community. For the next two decades, the US fought an inconclusive war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Ultimately, the US decided to withdraw from Afghanistan and, for this purpose, entered into an agreement with the Taliban in 2020 on the withdrawal on the condition that the Taliban would not target the US and its allies.
An inclusive government with representatives from various segments of the political spectrum of the Afghan society was expected to be formed in Afghanistan through intra-Afghan negotiations and consultations, which did begin but broke down. On 15th August 2021, the armed Taliban walked into Kabul literally without facing any significant resistance.
The Afghan government collapsed, and the Taliban regime 2.0 took control of the country. Since then, the Taliban has consolidated its control over the country, though the terror outfit ISIS(K) does pose some challenges to the regime.
In the last four years, there has been some dilution in the international isolation which the Taliban 2.0 had faced in the initial stages. While Russia has accorded diplomatic recognition, there are many other countries, including China, which are engaging with the Taliban at different levels.
Reconstructing Afghanistan
Coming back to the current scenario, both the Taliban and India have their own reasons to engage each other. From the very beginning, the Taliban made explicit attempts to reach out to India, assuring India that its more than $3bn investments (made between 2001-2021) were safe and India was welcome to complete the unfinished projects.
From Afghanistan’s perspective, engagement with India could help in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Further, visible engagement with India was a part of the Taliban’s broader strategy of gaining international acceptance/ recognition.
There are various factors which have dictated India’s policy of incremental engagement with Taliban 2.0. Primarily, it is guided by strategic pragmatism and security considerations based on ground realities.
It is crucial for India that the Afghan territory is not used or misused by forces inimical to India's national interests. In 2021, the probability of Pakistan establishing anti-India terror outfits on Afghan soil was real due to the proximity between ISI/ Pak Army and Taliban. Further, India cannot afford to sit on the fence and watch China gain influence in Afghanistan. China was the first major power to exchange Ambassadors with the Taliban.
Several other steps preceded the Afghan Foreign Minister’s official visit to New Delhi. For instance, the meeting on 31st August 2021 between the Indian Ambassador in Doha with Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, Head of Afghanistan's political office, marked the opening of diplomatic channels between India and the Taliban.
The visit to Kabul in June 2022 by a delegation led by the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs was followed by the deployment of a “Technical team” in the Indian Embassy to oversee India’s development assistance and humanitarian assistance projects. Meanwhile, India continued to act as a First Responder in the hours of natural disasters in Afghanistan.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met the acting foreign minister of Afghanistan, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, in Dubai in early January 2025, making it India’s highest-level official contact at the time with the regime in Kabul since the Taliban’s assumption of power in August 2021.
The Pakistan factor
The cordial relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2021 have come under severe strain during the past few years. Afghanistan and Pakistan continue to differ on the Durand Line as the international border between the two countries. Forced deportation by Pakistan of the Afghan refugees is another contentious issue.
Most importantly, Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of harbouring the anti-Afghan terrorist organisation ISIS(K) while Pakistan blames Afghanistan for sheltering TTP (Pakistan), whose terror attacks on Pakistan have increased manifold in recent years. The mounting tensions have culminated in serious border clashes between the two countries. The dip in Afghan-Pakistan relations creates a strategic space for India to manoeuvre to its advantage.
Important Takeaways from the Visit
The high-level visit from Afghanistan is a confirmation that India’s initial policy of “cautious engagement with Afghanistan” has now entered into a new phase of “strategic pragmatism”. The visit has also signalled India’s decision and Afghanistan’s desire to take bilateral relations to the next level through bilateral political exchanges and enhanced development assistance by India for infrastructure development and capacity building in Afghanistan.
The two sides have reiterated the convergence of views on cross-border terrorism. Without naming Pakistan, “Both sides unequivocally condemned all acts of terrorism emanating from regional countries.” The Afghan Foreign Minister publicly “reiterated the commitment that the Afghan government will not allow any group or individual to use the territory of Afghanistan against India.”
There are two important issues which confront India at the moment. The first is full diplomatic recognition of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan; it appears that India will perhaps wait to synchronise its decision with international opinion on this issue for the moment.
The second challenge for India is to find ways to balance diplomacy with principles, considering that the Taliban is pursuing regressive policies, particularly regarding women’s rights and freedoms. In geopolitics, pragmatism does demand adjustments and perhaps for this reason, India of late has not been vocal in demanding the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan that represented all ethnic communities as well as women.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of ETV Bharat)
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