New Delhi/Kabul – India and Afghanistan announced a new phase of cooperation on Friday as acting Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi met his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar in New Delhi, marking the Taliban government’s highest-level diplomatic engagement with India since 2021.

In a joint statement issued on October 10, 2025, both sides reaffirmed “long-standing friendship” and pledged to expand collaboration in healthcare, infrastructure, education, and trade, while also condemning terrorism emanating from “regional countries” — a formulation widely interpreted by analysts as a veiled reference to Pakistan.

India Reaffirms Support, Afghanistan Expresses Gratitude

Jaishankar “reiterated India’s long-standing friendship with the Afghan people” and stressed that New Delhi remained “committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of Afghanistan.” Muttaqi, in turn, expressed appreciation for India’s humanitarian support and assured that Afghanistan would not allow any group or individual to use its territory against India.

Observers say the exchange reflects India’s cautious yet strategic re-entry into Kabul’s orbit, three years after the Taliban returned to power. India closed its embassy in 2021 following the U.S. withdrawal but maintained a “technical mission” for humanitarian operations — now being upgraded to a full-fledged embassy, according to diplomatic sources.

Counterterrorism and Regional Signaling

The statement’s most politically charged section came as both sides “unequivocally condemned all acts of terrorism emanating from regional countries” and stressed mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Indian analysts framed it as a subtle endorsement of New Delhi’s security concerns, while Afghan observers warned against Kabul appearing to take sides in South Asia’s long-standing geopolitical rivalry.

A senior regional security analyst in Islamabad noted that “linking terrorism to unnamed ‘regional actors’ could strain Afghanistan’s fragile balancing act — particularly given Kabul’s dependence on cross-border trade and energy access through Pakistan.”

Development Projects and India’s Expanding Footprint

India announced a new wave of development assistance, including hospitals, clinics, and scholarships:

• Construction of a 30-bed hospital, oncology and trauma centers in Kabul, and five maternity clinics across Paktia, Khost, and Paktika provinces.
  
• Establishment of a Thalassemia Centre and Diagnostic Centre in Kabul, and rehabilitation of heating systems at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health.
  
• Twenty ambulances gifted to Afghanistan as part of a symbolic humanitarian gesture.
  
• Continued ICCR scholarships for Afghan students and potential reconstruction of housing in earthquake-affected Nangarhar and Kunar.
  

Jaishankar also praised Afghanistan’s condemnation of the Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Kashmir (April 2025) — a point critics view as part of New Delhi’s ongoing effort to draw Kabul diplomatically closer on its Kashmir narrative.

Trade, Investment, and Connectivity

Both sides welcomed the launch of the India–Afghanistan Air Freight Corridor, which aims to enhance direct trade despite the absence of formal overland access through Pakistan.
Muttaqi invited Indian firms to invest in Afghanistan’s mining sector, while India reaffirmed assistance on hydroelectric and water-management projects, including the Salma (India–Afghanistan Friendship) Dam in Herat.

Analysts note that while these initiatives offer Kabul much-needed aid, they also serve India’s strategic interest in countering China’s growing influence in Afghan infrastructure and mineral development — particularly as Beijing and Islamabad deepen coordination on the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Cultural and Sports Cooperation

The two foreign ministers also discussed expanding cultural exchanges, with a focus on cricket and youth training programs — symbolic soft-power tools that India has historically used to strengthen bilateral goodwill.

Regional Reactions and Pakistan’s View

While Islamabad has not officially commented, officials familiar with Pakistan’s South Asia policy told HTN that India’s outreach to the Taliban administration should be seen through a “pragmatic, not alarmist” lens.
“Afghanistan remains a sovereign country engaging multiple partners — what matters is whether these engagements contribute to regional stability or intensify rival blocs,” one official said, emphasizing that Pakistan supports any initiative that promotes peace and prevents the use of Afghan soil against neighbors.

However, policy analysts in Islamabad privately note concerns that India’s growing presence could be used for intelligence gathering and influence operations along Pakistan’s western border, a long-standing security apprehension given New Delhi’s past support for anti-Pakistan militant networks operating from Afghan territory.

Outlook

The India–Afghanistan joint statement underscores a gradual normalization of ties between New Delhi and Kabul, with both sides seeking to transform cautious contact into sustained engagement.

But questions remain over how far the Taliban government can balance this new outreach without alienating its immediate neighbors, particularly Pakistan, which remains Afghanistan’s largest trade partner and critical access route to the Arabian Sea.

For now, the visit marks a symbolic diplomatic milestone: India reopening its door to Kabul, and Afghanistan signaling that friendship with one neighbor need not come at the cost of another.