DPG Policy Brief
India Forges Ties with the Taliban
Authors Ambassador Phunchok Stobdan
Date: June 03, 2025
The aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack has seen significant developments in India’s ties with the Taliban-led regime in Afghanistan. In a welcome move, the Taliban regime “categorically condemned” the attack, while also pointing out that such incidents undermine “regional security and stability”. This was followed by another diplomatic breakthrough, with India’s EAM, Dr. S. Jaishankar, holding a substantive and forward looking conversation with the Acting Afghan FM Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi. This opening may have surprised some observers, but was in fact part of a carefully calibrated evolution of India’s ties with the Taliban since 2021.
In this comprehensive policy brief on India-Afghanistan relations, the author highlights that these recent developments have marked a shift in India’s strategic thinking, while reaffirming India’s traditional friendship with the Afghan people and India’s continuing support for their development needs. On their part, the Taliban have signalled their willingness to cooperate with India to counter the menace of terrorism. As a result, India is now considering fresh development projects for the Afghan people and the provisioning of humanitarian aid to Afghan refugees expelled by Pakistan. The importance of India-Afghanistan trade connectivity through Chabahar has again been emphasised.
The author recalls that the US-Taliban Doha Agreement of February 19, 2020 had placed India in a difficult position, leaving it with policy dilemmas ranging from preserving India’s $3 billion in infrastructure investments in Afghanistan to security implications for Jammu and Kashmir. With changes in the outlook of various powers, India’s own policy framework faced pressures for change. The historical trend of regimes in Kabul hedging against the threat from Pakistan and reaching out to civilisational neighbour India has once again come into play.
After maintaining a steady but limited engagement with the Taliban post their return to power in 2021, India implicitly recognised the Taliban’s legitimacy following an inaugural high-level meeting between Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and FM Muttaqi in Dubai in January 2025.
This policy brief examines at length the geopolitical implications of post-2021 developments related to Afghanistan, including the US and Pakistan factors. It also details the extended historical backdrop of India-Afghan ties, pointing out that throughout periods of political turmoil in Afghanistan, India has consistently adhered to a framework that emphasises the preservation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, while refraining from intervening in its domestic conflicts.
The author concludes that the real challenge for India is not so much the Taliban, but the malign influence of Pakistan and its manipulation of the Pashtun identity. India should aim to rejuvenate the Pashtun nationalist sentiment that Pakistan has long sought to suppress in favour of advancing pan-Islamism to exercise control over Afghanistan.
Ongoing changes in India’s diplomatic strategy towards Afghanistan can have favourable regional implications and pave the way for notable geopolitical shifts. In the evolving situation, the Taliban are unlikely to act as a proxy for Pakistan in the event of military hostilities with India. Pakistan has long sought to instrumentalise Afghanistan for “strategic depth” against India. India is now positioned to employ “reverse strategic depth” against Pakistan.
To read this DPG Policy Brief Vol. X, Issue 17, please click “India Forges Ties with the Taliban”.
In this comprehensive policy brief on India-Afghanistan relations, the author highlights that these recent developments have marked a shift in India’s strategic thinking, while reaffirming India’s traditional friendship with the Afghan people and India’s continuing support for their development needs. On their part, the Taliban have signalled their willingness to cooperate with India to counter the menace of terrorism. As a result, India is now considering fresh development projects for the Afghan people and the provisioning of humanitarian aid to Afghan refugees expelled by Pakistan. The importance of India-Afghanistan trade connectivity through Chabahar has again been emphasised.
The author recalls that the US-Taliban Doha Agreement of February 19, 2020 had placed India in a difficult position, leaving it with policy dilemmas ranging from preserving India’s $3 billion in infrastructure investments in Afghanistan to security implications for Jammu and Kashmir. With changes in the outlook of various powers, India’s own policy framework faced pressures for change. The historical trend of regimes in Kabul hedging against the threat from Pakistan and reaching out to civilisational neighbour India has once again come into play.
After maintaining a steady but limited engagement with the Taliban post their return to power in 2021, India implicitly recognised the Taliban’s legitimacy following an inaugural high-level meeting between Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and FM Muttaqi in Dubai in January 2025.
This policy brief examines at length the geopolitical implications of post-2021 developments related to Afghanistan, including the US and Pakistan factors. It also details the extended historical backdrop of India-Afghan ties, pointing out that throughout periods of political turmoil in Afghanistan, India has consistently adhered to a framework that emphasises the preservation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, while refraining from intervening in its domestic conflicts.
The author concludes that the real challenge for India is not so much the Taliban, but the malign influence of Pakistan and its manipulation of the Pashtun identity. India should aim to rejuvenate the Pashtun nationalist sentiment that Pakistan has long sought to suppress in favour of advancing pan-Islamism to exercise control over Afghanistan.
Ongoing changes in India’s diplomatic strategy towards Afghanistan can have favourable regional implications and pave the way for notable geopolitical shifts. In the evolving situation, the Taliban are unlikely to act as a proxy for Pakistan in the event of military hostilities with India. Pakistan has long sought to instrumentalise Afghanistan for “strategic depth” against India. India is now positioned to employ “reverse strategic depth” against Pakistan.
To read this DPG Policy Brief Vol. X, Issue 17, please click “India Forges Ties with the Taliban”.
