India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaki in Dubai last week, marking a strong leap forward in bilateral ties.
While India has been gradually increasing its engagement with the Taliban, this latest meeting represents the highest level of talks since the Islamic group took over Afghanistan in 2021. Notably, this was the second meeting between officials from New Delhi and Kabul in just two months. An indication of the readiness of both countries to increase diplomatic engagement.
“We should not overstate the impact of Pakistan’s tensions with the Taliban on India’s growing engagement with the Taliban. Even before relations with the Taliban were strained, New Delhi had already Pakistan had taken some small steps toward engagement,” Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, tells Fox News Digital.
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India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the media at the Parliament House in New Delhi on December 7, 2022. (Prakash Singh/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
During the discussion, Misri stressed the “historic friendship” between the two countries and “strong people-to-people contacts.” Meanwhile, the Afghan Foreign Minister described India as “an important and economically important country in the region”.
According to a statement from India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the talks focused on strengthening bilateral relations, addressing security concerns, engaging in development projects and enhancing humanitarian assistance.
India is among the many countries that are actively providing trade, aid and medical assistance to Afghanistan under Taliban rule. The country, which hosts thousands of Afghan refugees, also promised to provide “material assistance” for their resettlement in Afghanistan.
“New Delhi’s reach out to the Taliban is driven by the idea that closer engagement can help India better pursue its security and strategic interests in Afghanistan – and these include strengthening trade and connectivity links and ensuring This includes ensuring that India is not threatened by terrorists on Afghan soil.” Kugelman explained.
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The discussion also included increasing trade through Chabahar port in Sistan-Baluchistan province of Iran. India is developing the Chabahar port to enable it to bypass ports in its rival Pakistan. This strategic port, located across the border with Pakistan, can provide an alternative route to receive and ship goods to landlocked Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan.
Afghan refugees living in Pakistan rally against India in Lahore, Pakistan, February 28, 2019. (AP Photo/KM Chaudhary)
The meeting between India and the Taliban could destabilize Pakistan, which shares borders with both countries. India and Pakistan are long-time rivals, having fought three wars over Kashmir since both countries gained independence in 1947. The meeting also comes amid deteriorating relations between the Taliban regime and Pakistan, once considered friendly neighbours, as cross-border violence has increased.
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The talks came just days after India “unequivocally” condemned Pakistani air strikes in Afghanistan in late December. These rare air strikes resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians, including women and children. Pakistani officials claimed that the attacks targeted Pakistani Taliban militants. Islamabad often accuses the Pakistani Taliban of using Afghan territory to carry out attacks in Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies.
People gather at the border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Chaman, Pakistan on August 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Zafar Khan)
The diplomatic engagement also follows the appointment of an acting consul by the Taliban to the Afghan Consulate in Bombay in November, the same month India’s Ministry of External Affairs’ joint secretary visited Kabul. Although no foreign government, including India, has officially recognized the Taliban administration since it came to power in 2021, India reopened its embassy in Kabul, less than a year after the Taliban returned to power .
“Islamabad has already seen a major deterioration in its relations with its former Taliban assets,” Kugelman said. “Now it has to grapple with the fact that its rival India could fill the void left by Pakistan’s distance from the Taliban. No matter how you cut it, it’s bad news for Pakistan.”
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Apart from deteriorating Pakistani relations, several factors may have prompted India to strengthen its relationship with Afghanistan. The weakening of Iran due to conflict and internal issues in the Middle East has reduced its influence over the Taliban. At the same time, Russia, one of India’s closest allies, is moving towards recognizing the Taliban government in Afghanistan, even calling the group a partner in fighting terrorism. Moscow faces a significant security threat from Islamic terrorist groups in countries all across the Middle East from Afghanistan, especially after losing Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Hundreds of people gather near a US Air Force C-17 transport plane on the perimeter of the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 17, 2021. (AP)
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China is also growing its ties with the Taliban, making India wary of Beijing’s growing influence. Additionally, India’s outlook may be influenced by the imminent return of President-elect Trump to the White House. The Trump administration initially brokered the US-Afghanistan withdrawal agreement. Trump’s re-election may now bring new dynamism to the region, which will push India to protect its long-term interests.
In contrast, the United States has severed diplomatic ties with Kabul following its chaotic withdrawal from war-torn Afghanistan. Washington maintains a policy of sanctions and isolation towards Taliban leaders. But now, nations in the region are evaluating the implications of the new Trump administration for the Taliban.
