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 US 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.

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-held 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 caution that India’s growing footprint in Afghanistan could expand its intelligence reach, enable influence operations, and indirectly support militant ecosystems already active along Pakistan’s western frontier.

They point to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), both of which have intensified attacks in recent months, as examples of groups that have previously exploited Afghan territory for cross-border operations.

Analysts warn that if Indian engagement translates into covert access or strategic positioning under the cover of development projects, it could exacerbate existing security risks, reviving Pakistan’s long-standing concern over New Delhi’s historical links with anti-Pakistan elements operating from Afghanistan.

Between Engagement and Equilibrium

The India–Afghanistan joint statement signals a gradual normalization of ties, with both sides attempting to convert tentative contact into sustained diplomatic engagement. Analysts view it as part of New Delhi’s broader strategy to regain regional influence after years of limited visibility in Kabul.

However, the path ahead remains delicate. Afghanistan’s Taliban-led administration faces the challenge of balancing emerging ties with India against its geographic and economic interdependence with Pakistan, which remains its largest trade partner and principal gateway to the Arabian Sea.

At the same time, Kabul must navigate a complex geopolitical landscape shaped by China’s expanding footprint, US re-engagement attempts, and regional rivalries that increasingly play out through development and connectivity projects rather than direct confrontation.

In essence, India’s diplomatic outreach to Kabul may be framed as humanitarian, but its subtext is strategic. Afghanistan’s acceptance of India’s hand will test whether the Taliban can maintain equidistance amid great-power rivalries.

For Afghanistan, courting Indian investment and aid offers diversification; for India, it reopens a lost frontier of influence. Yet, the calculus remains fragile, any perceived alignment against Pakistan or China could reignite the very rivalries the region is trying to de-escalate.