Recent Indian moves such as foreign secretary Vikram Misri’s meeting with the Taliban regime’s foreign minister in January 2025 and news reports of New Delhi potentially accepting a Taliban representative to head the embassy have generated a lot of curiosity regarding India’s objectives, current approach, and future course of action vis-à-vis Kabul. However, given India’s engagement with Afghanistan in the last two decades, these actions can be viewed as a continuation of its past initiatives, which have focused both on rebuilding Afghanistan as well as securing New Delhi’s own interests.  

India’s Strategic Goals in Afghanistan

While historically it is India’s civilizational and cultural ties with Afghanistan that have dictated engagement, its strategic and security objectives have been critical drivers of its relationship with Kabul more recently. India’s keenness to expand connectivity networks with Central Asia, and its deep security concerns emanating from the past experience of Pakistan-linked anti-India groups finding support on Afghan soil have been important factors impelling its presence in Afghanistan. This may explain why India’s engagement with Taliban 2.0 stands in complete contrast to its position in the 1990s when it opted for complete cessation of its relationship with Afghanistan after the Taliban took over.

When the republican regime rapidly disintegrated and the Afghan security forces lost ground, New Delhi came around to the realization that the Taliban 2.0 is the new normal. Given India’s high stakes involvement, New Delhi considered it sagacious to potentially begin engaging with the Taliban in order to manage the challenges emanating from Afghanistan.  

India’s engagement with Afghanistan in the current context can be understood in two phases. The first phase of the relationship started post 2001, after the United States-led war on terror dismantled Al-Qaida and removed the Taliban from power, eventually facilitating the elected regime in Afghanistan. Post 2001, the India-Afghanistan relationship evolved from one restricted to governmental exchange to a more expansive bilateral driven by strong people-to-people contact. The focus of India’s engagement became developmental projects, including related to hydropower, health, education, and humanitarian aid. India’s assistance to Afghanistan during this period amounted to close to USD 3 billion, and the development support included over 500 projects that have significantly impacted Afghan lives. India consciously abstained from military engagement in Afghanistan, remaining focused on infrastructure, skill development and capacity-building programs, which transcended into enormous goodwill and soft power for New Delhi. While India was unsure of the future political dynamics in Afghanistan with the Taliban’s uncompromising position at the

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