India’s Diplomatic Reset: From Shutting Its Embassy to Hosting the Taliban
Four years after the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul forced India to close its embassy and evacuate diplomats, New Delhi has now rolled out the red carpet for Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi — a man still on the United Nations sanctions list.
Muttaqi’s weeklong visit to India in October 2025 marks the first official trip by a senior Taliban leader since the group seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021. Accompanied by trade and foreign ministry officials, he met Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and other top officials in New Delhi.
After the meeting, Jaishankar announced India’s plan to reopen its embassy in Kabul, signaling a dramatic shift from isolation to engagement.
“Closer cooperation between us contributes to your national development as well as regional stability and resilience,” Jaishankar said.
Muttaqi, calling India a “close friend,” welcomed the new phase of ties, adding that Kabul was ready to facilitate Indian investment in Afghanistan’s mining and infrastructure sectors.
India’s Pragmatic Turn: From Resistance to Realism
For decades, India viewed the Taliban as a proxy for Pakistan’s military establishment, a force that threatened its influence in Afghanistan and security in Kashmir. During the Taliban’s first regime (1996–2001), India backed the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, along with Iran and Russia.
But the geopolitical map of South Asia has changed dramatically since then.
Pakistan, once the Taliban’s strongest backer, is now locked in bitter border disputes and mutual recriminations with the group. Islamabad accuses Kabul of harboring Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters responsible for deadly attacks inside Pakistan — a charge the Taliban deny.
This rift has opened a rare strategic opportunity for New Delhi.
“The costs of avoiding engagement with the Taliban in the past — by ceding Afghanistan entirely to Pakistan — have taught India an important lesson,” said Praveen Donthi, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group. “This time, India wants to ensure it doesn’t lose influence in Kabul again.”
Donthi describes India’s outreach as “a pragmatic move divorced from ideology”, designed to prevent China and Pakistan from monopolizing Afghanistan’s strategic space.
Why the Taliban Needs India Too
For the Taliban, the New Delhi visit offers international legitimacy at a time when few countries have formally recognized their government.
The regime remains under UN sanctions, and despite limited ties with Russia, China, and Iran, it remains diplomatically isolated in the broader international community.
“Being welcomed by India — a major democracy and global power — gives the Taliban both symbolic and practical credibility,” noted Ajai Sahni, executive director of the South Asia Terrorism Portal.
Sahni added that India’s soft power, humanitarian aid, and educational influence have long earned goodwill among ordinary Afghans, creating a base for deeper cooperation.
Muttaqi also used his trip to reach out to Afghan Sikhs and Hindus in New Delhi, inviting them to return and rebuild their lives in Afghanistan.
“We consider them part of our national fabric,” Muttaqi said, signaling a bid to reassure displaced minorities.
A New Strategic Axis: India and the Taliban Against Pakistan
Analysts see the growing India-Taliban convergence as a case of “enemy’s enemy is a friend.”
Both sides now find themselves at odds with Pakistan. India accuses Islamabad of orchestrating terrorism in Kashmir, while Pakistan blames Afghanistan for harboring militants.
These tensions escalated dramatically in 2025, when cross-border shelling and missile exchanges killed dozens on both sides of the Durand Line, coinciding with Muttaqi’s visit to India.
The Taliban’s public condemnation of the April 2025 Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Kashmir — which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based groups — was a turning point.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs praised Kabul’s “strong condemnation of terrorism emanating from regional countries,” marking an unprecedented alignment.
“We both have grievances and problems with Pakistan,” said former Indian ambassador Gautam Mukhopadhaya. “That makes us, in a sense, natural allies.”
What India Hopes to Gain
1. Strategic Depth in Central Asia
By re-engaging Kabul, India seeks to counter both Chinese influence under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Pakistan’s attempt to dominate Afghan trade routes.
2. Access to Minerals and Connectivity
Afghanistan’s vast lithium, copper, and rare earth reserves have attracted Indian investors, and the Taliban have invited Indian firms to enter the sector.
3. Regional Security Leverage
India hopes to ensure that Afghan territory is not used for anti-India militant activity, a point reiterated in Muttaqi’s public assurances.
4. Soft Power and People-to-People Links
Thousands of Afghan students study in Indian universities, while trade in pharmaceuticals, construction materials, and food products remains robust — reaching nearly $900 million annually.
Domestic Controversy and Human Rights Questions
Despite diplomatic progress, Modi’s government faces domestic backlash over hosting a regime accused of suppressing women’s rights.
The exclusion of female journalists from Muttaqi’s first press conference in New Delhi sparked outrage, forcing the Afghan delegation to hold a second, more inclusive event the next day.
Critics also highlight India’s silence on the Taliban’s gender apartheid policies and the killing of Indian journalist Danish Siddiqui during the Taliban’s 2021 offensive.
Yet, for New Delhi, analysts say, the strategic calculus outweighs ideological discomfort.
“You can’t walk away because you dislike the regime,” said Sahni. “You have to deal with the political realities of the region.”
What Comes Next: Flights, Embassies, and Diplomatic Normalization
Muttaqi announced plans for direct flights between Kabul and Indian cities such as Amritsar and Delhi — a symbolic and practical step toward normalization.
India’s decision to reopen its Kabul embassy will further institutionalize engagement, though formal recognition of the Taliban government remains off the table for now.
Still, the optics of the visit — photographs of Muttaqi at Darul Uloom Deoband, one of South Asia’s most influential Islamic seminaries — captured the historic scale of India’s policy turnaround.
Conclusion: Realpolitik Over Ideology
India’s embrace of the Taliban is not a shift of heart but of strategy. By opening doors to the Taliban, New Delhi hopes to insulate itself from instability in its neighborhood, contain Pakistan’s influence, and keep a seat at the table in shaping Afghanistan’s future.
As former diplomat Mukhopadhaya summarized:
“India’s hands are tied by geography and history. Whether we like it or not, we can’t ignore Afghanistan — and this time, we’re not going to.”
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