When Amir Khan Muttaqi, the overseas minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, met together with his Indian counterpart, Exterior Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, in New Delhi on Oct. 10, the delicate scaffolding of India’s engagement with the Taliban was on full view. All official communications from the Indian facet referred to Muttaqi as merely the “Afghan overseas minister.” On the assembly, neither the tricolor flag of Afghanistan’s erstwhile republic nor the white banner of the Islamic Emirate had been current. On the Afghan Embassy, alternatively, the flag of the republic was hoisted exterior, whereas Muttaqi and his coterie put up the emirate’s white flag inside, claiming Taliban possession over the premises and the individuals working inside it.
Starting on Oct. 9, Muttaqi’s weeklong go to to India has confronted intense scrutiny and curiosity, owing to the symbolism and rarity of a Taliban chief being hosted at an official degree in India. Few foresaw such a go to when the rebel group regained energy in August 2021. However India, propelled by realpolitik and pragmatism, has steadily elevated its engagement with the Taliban prior to now few years whereas nonetheless abstaining from formally recognizing the regime.
When Amir Khan Muttaqi, the overseas minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, met together with his Indian counterpart, Exterior Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, in New Delhi on Oct. 10, the delicate scaffolding of India’s engagement with the Taliban was on full view. All official communications from the Indian facet referred to Muttaqi as merely the “Afghan overseas minister.” On the assembly, neither the tricolor flag of Afghanistan’s erstwhile republic nor the white banner of the Islamic Emirate had been current. On the Afghan Embassy, alternatively, the flag of the republic was hoisted exterior, whereas Muttaqi and his coterie put up the emirate’s white flag inside, claiming Taliban possession over the premises and the individuals working inside it.
Starting on Oct. 9, Muttaqi’s weeklong go to to India has confronted intense scrutiny and curiosity, owing to the symbolism and rarity of a Taliban chief being hosted at an official degree in India. Few foresaw such a go to when the rebel group regained energy in August 2021. However India, propelled by realpolitik and pragmatism, has steadily elevated its engagement with the Taliban prior to now few years whereas nonetheless abstaining from formally recognizing the regime.
In January, Muttaqi met with the Indian overseas secretary in Dubai. After the Pahalgam terrorist assault in April, he met with the joint secretary of the Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran Division at India’s Ministry of Exterior Affairs. And in Could, he and Jaishankar spoke over the cellphone.
India’s rising engagement with the Taliban has solely intensified since New Delhi launched Operation Sindoor and broadly redefined its strategy to coping with Pakistan. The deterioration of ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan following the Taliban’s return has additionally allowed India extra room to construct ties with the regime to safe its personal strategic pursuits. Past this, regional dynamics have been a further issue for India as different nations within the area slowly develop their footprints and strengthen ties with the Taliban. Russia grew to become the primary nation to de jure acknowledge the Taliban in June. China and several other republics in Central Asia have exchanged ambassadors with Afghanistan.
The Taliban regime, for its half, has pursued India out of a want to diversify its diplomatic relationships. This suits the regime’s technique of positioning itself as a practical participant—keen to work with different nations primarily based on mutual pursuits, regardless of how formal the ties are. This “enemy of none, pal of everybody” strategy is supposed to safe the Taliban regime’s legitimacy by promoting itself as a nonideological and economically oriented authorities.
India is perhaps its newest purchaser.
In a joint assertion launched by the 2 sides after their Oct. 10 assembly, Jaishankar reiterated India’s long-standing civilizational and cultural ties with Afghanistan and its dedication to supporting the nation’s improvement. He additionally expressed his appreciation for the Taliban’s “robust condemnation” of the assault in Pahalgam, the group’s understanding of India’s safety considerations, and each side’ dedication to “selling peace, stability, and mutual belief within the area.” The 2 sides reaffirmed their dedication to proceed their common engagements.
The assembly additionally produced extra materials outcomes for India-Afghanistan relations. On the political entrance, India determined to absolutely reopen its embassy in Kabul, which was functioning as a technical mission since June 2022, and to formally accredit the Islamic Emirate’s diplomats. (Neither facet talked about appointing an envoy.)
India additionally made humanitarian commitments. It promised to renew its stalled public infrastructure and improvement tasks in Afghanistan, assist rebuild homes destroyed in latest earthquakes, and proceed to supply e-Indian Council for Cultural Relations scholarships to Afghan college students. Jaishankar introduced Indian assist for brand spanking new well being care facilities throughout the nation and upgrades on the Indira Gandhi Youngsters’s Hospital in Kabul. After the assembly, he gifted 20 ambulances to Muttaqi.
Muttaqi, in flip, invited India to put money into Afghanistan’s mining sector, a carrot that the regime has used to interact with different nations. He additionally sought cooperation on hydroelectric tasks and mentioned methods to successfully use the Chabahar port in Iran, regardless of U.S. sanctions. He raised the problems of visas and funding, and he additionally referred to as for the reopening of the Attari-Wagah border crossing between India and Pakistan, which was closed in Could. Afghanistan and India additional agreed to open an air hall and improve the variety of flights between the nations.
Whereas in India, the Taliban chief additionally visited the Darul Uloom seminary in Uttar Pradesh, which holds excessive spiritual significance for Sunni Muslims. He met enterprise and trade leaders on the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Business, interacted with Afghan refugees, and held two press conferences. Ladies journalists had been barred from the primary one. However they confirmed up in power at one other three days later, and their hard-hitting questions on the state of ladies in Afghanistan made it clear that these considerations stay paramount inside India. It’s too quickly to inform, nonetheless, whether or not these considerations will likely be mirrored in official coverage, and India must tread a nice line between participating with the regime and unintentionally endorsing it.
New Delhi’s high-stakes diplomacy has not essentially gone unnoticed. Whilst Muttaqi was assembly Jaishankar, Pakistan carried out airstrikes within the Afghan capital, apparently meant to focus on the chief of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The Taliban responded by concentrating on border posts in Pakistan. Clashes killed dozens earlier than a ceasefire was put in place on Sunday. The timing of the strikes by Pakistan displays its uneasiness with the warming relations between New Delhi and Kabul because it struggles to persuade the Taliban to cease its assist of the TTP.
India’s dedication to defending Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity may additionally add to Islamabad’s uneasiness. New Delhi has predicated its engagement with the Taliban on its assurance that Afghan soil not be used in opposition to India’s pursuits. Muttaqi reiterated this dedication, as he has performed on earlier events, however the Taliban’s potential and willingness to do this are nonetheless uncertain. Regardless of clear proof on the contrary, the group denies the presence of any safety challenges or exterior teams inside Afghanistan.
Within the brief run, deteriorating ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have labored in New Delhi’s favor, however their deeply entrenched relationship can’t be wished away. When India launched Operation Sindoor, the Taliban condemned the escalation and referred to as on each side to train restraint. Afghanistan and Pakistan additionally elevated their relationship to the ambassadorial degree in Could, and have been assembly often—each bilaterally and trilaterally, with China—to additional cooperation. Even after the clashes this month, Muttaqi urged Pakistan to barter and blamed solely a small subsection in Pakistan for being hell-bent on destroying the ties with Afghanistan.
All which means within the aftermath of Muttaqi’s go to, India must set lifelike expectations about its relations with the Taliban regime. Nonetheless, engagement stays a strategic necessity. India’s recalibration vis-à-vis the Taliban regime underscores New Delhi’s dedication to prioritizing regional stability at a time of turbulence.
