India has decided to boost ties with the top Taliban leadership in Afghanistan especially after the India-Pakistan ties touched a new low because of the April 22 (2025) Pahalgam terror attack. On May 14, Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar discussed the current regional geopolitical scenario with Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, over phone. It may be noted it was the first direct foreign ministerial-level talks between New Delhi and Kabul after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Hence, the telephonic conversation between the two ministers is considered quite significant.

The Taliban-led Afghan Government strongly condemned the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 innocent lives on April 22, with Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the spokesperson of the Afghan Foreign Ministry, directly denouncing the targeting of tourists. He emphasised that “such acts threaten regional peace and stability”. During his talks with the Afghan minister, Dr Jaishankar expressed “deep appreciation” for the condemnation, stressing that the Government of India would like to thank Kabul for condemning the terror attack. Later, he wrote on X: “Good conversation with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi this evening. Deeply appreciate his condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Underlined our traditional friendship with the Afghan people and continuing support for their development needs. Discussed ways and means of taking cooperation forward.“

Earlier, Pakistan claimed that the Taliban masterminded the Pahalgam terror attack in an attempt to create distrust between India and Afghanistan. However, the Taliban Government rejected the allegation and also criticised Islamabad for sponsoring terrorism.

Hafiz Zia Ahmed, the Director of Public Communication at the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made a detailed post on X, announcing that Muttaqi asked Dr Jaishankar to help in securing more Indian visas for Afghan patients and visitors. He also urged the Government of India to help in freeing Afghan prisoners from Indian jails. According to Ahmed, India and Afghanistan would boost trade through the Chabahar Port of Iran in the coming days.

Incidentally, the relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated since the return of the Taliban Regime in Kabul. Islamabad has blasted the Taliban leadership for helping the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP or the Pakistani Taliban) insurgent group to carry out terror attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (of Pakistan). On the other hand, India has decided to hold talks with the Taliban Government on various issues, without granting diplomatic recognition to the Taliban-led Afghan Government. In such an atmosphere, New Delhi is trying to strengthen ties with Kabul in an attempt to further corner Islamabad.

Political analysts are of the opinion that the attitude of the current rulers of Afghanistan has acted as a catalyst in strengthening Indo-Afghan ties. India is yet to recognise the Taliban-led government as New Delhi officially considers the Taliban as a terrorist outfit. However, sources close to the Government of India have hinted that New Delhi may recognise the Taliban soon. It may be noted that the Narendra Modi Administration has allowed the Taliban Government to open consulates in New Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. Hence, the Afghan nationals who have arrived in India for business, higher education or medical purposes receive various administrative benefits. New Delhi is also planning to allow the Taliban Administration to open an embassy in the Indian capital and to start arms trade with Kabul.

China has already recognised the Taliban, while Russia has decided to establish diplomatic ties with this Afghan political movement (with an ideology comprising elements of the Deobandi Movement of Islamic fundamentalism). India, too, has sanctioned a huge amount of financial aid for the socio-economic development of Afghanistan in recent times. Cordial ties between Afghanistan and India would certainly create troubles for Pakistan.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das