India’s new diplomatic relations with Taliban begin, Jaishankar talks to Afghan Foreign Minister

New Delhi. Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on Thursday held official talks for the first time with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister of the Taliban-ruled regime of Afghanistan. In this conversation, issues like India-Afghan traditional friendship, development cooperation and strong condemnation of the recent Pahalgam terrorist attack came up prominently.

In this historic conversation, Jaishankar reiterated his commitment to continued support for their development needs, underlining India’s traditional friendship with the Afghan people. It is worth noting that India has not yet officially recognized the Taliban regime.

This conversation took place at a time when the Taliban government had publicly condemned the Pahalgam attack. 26 people were killed in this terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on May 7, in which Pak-backed terrorists were involved.

After the talks, Jaishankar wrote on the social media platform ‘X’ – “Had a good conversation with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi. Thanked him for condemning the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Reiterated our traditional friendship with the Afghan people and our commitment to development. Discussed measures to further enhance cooperation.”

This is the first time that there has been an official dialogue between India and the Taliban at the political level, while India has not yet given formal recognition to the Taliban government. Earlier in January 2025, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Muttaqi in Dubai.

Earlier such contact was seen in the year 1999-2000, when Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh held talks with the then Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil during the Kandahar plane hijacking incident. Experts believe that this dialogue is a part of India’s strategic diplomacy, in which it is trying to establish contact with the Afghan people and regional stability by establishing direct dialogue with the Taliban. This move by India not only reflects its long-term commitment to the Afghan people, but also underlines its active role in the changing geopolitical equations in the region.