The Taliban-led Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) is now edging towards completing its fourth year in power. In the past four years, India’s outreach to the regime has progressed incrementally, transitioning to a more overt but cautiously pragmatic engagement. The latest phone call between India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr S. Jaishankar, and the interim Foreign Minister of the IEA, Amir Khan Muttaqi, marked an important milestone in this engagement.
The External Affairs Minister (EAM) expressed gratitude towards Muttaqi for condemning the terror attack in Pahalgam and appreciated that they did not buy into attempts to sow distrust between the two countries, an indirect reference to misleading claims made by Pakistan. Over the years, New Delhi’s strategy has evolved, making sure that the Taliban are cognisant of their security considerations while slowly committing to increasing its humanitarian and development cooperation with the country.
In January this year, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had met Muttaqi in Dubai, the most high-level engagement between the two sides. This also came in the aftermath of the deterioration of ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan as the two engaged in strikes and counter-strikes in December 2024. For India, a reduction in Pakistan’s influence in Kabul gives it more space to increase its engagement and better secure its strategic and security interests in the region. The importance of Chabahar port for trade, delivery of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and distancing Kabul from its over-dependence on Islamabad is also seen as an avenue for cooperation.
However, while New Delhi has increased the tempo of its outreach, other countries in the region have been more forthcoming in their engagement. Russia recently removed the Taliban from its list of terror organisations, albeit temporarily. Iran and Central Asian Republics, such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and even Tajikistan, have also increased their engagement with the group. The Taliban also leverages these developments, reiterating their neutral foreign policy based on mutual interests and a quid pro quo approach.
When the latest conflict between India and Pakistan was still going on, the Taliban highlighted their relationship with both countries and urged them to show restraint and resolve the issues through dialogue. While India has increased its outreach to the group in the last few weeks, with the call and the April 27 meeting with an Indian delegation led by the Joint Secretary from the MEA, Muttaqi has also been engaging with his counterparts from Pakistan and China.
The economic commitments made in the statements still have a long way to go, and no progress has been made on the CPEC, with none expected in the near future. But in the aftermath of the conflict between India and Pakistan, China’s bid to realign Pakistan and Afghanistan under its sphere can be problematic for New Delhi. For the Taliban, while a good relationship with India allows it to assert its independence from Islamabad, it is for New Delhi to see if its ties with the Taliban can reap the benefits it wishes to get. Even as the relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan has deteriorated significantly in the past three-and-a-half years, the two sides have been trying to address their issues and re-engage.
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