Afghanistan Times
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KABUL – India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai, marking the highest-level engagement between the two sides since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
The meeting signals a significant shift in India’s approach to Afghanistan, three years after Kabul’s fall to the Taliban erased two decades of Indian investment in the country’s democratic and infrastructural development. The Taliban leadership expressed interest in strengthening political and economic ties with India, referring to it as a “significant regional and economic power.”
Discussions focused on enhancing trade and connectivity, particularly through Iran’s Chabahar port, which India is developing as an alternative to Pakistan’s Karachi and Gwadar ports. This outreach reflects India’s pragmatic recognition of Afghanistan’s importance in the region and its aim to counterbalance growing Chinese and Pakistani influence.
India’s engagement also comes amid souring relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with cross-border tensions escalating due to Pakistan’s accusations that the Taliban is sheltering the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). For India, closer ties with the Taliban present an opportunity to expand its regional influence while leveraging its historical goodwill and developmental contributions in Afghanistan.
