Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi arrives at Darul Uloom Deoband, in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025.
Credit: PTI Photo
Afghanistan’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, is on a visit to India while clashes intensify on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and tension escalates between the two countries with a fresh trading of charges. Both Afghanistan and Pakistan have claimed severe damage to each other, including the killing of many soldiers and fighters
Muttaqi even issued a warning to Pakistan from Indian soil. The mending of relations between New Delhi and Kabul has strategic import and is pegged to the principle that an enemy’s enemy is a friend. India is set to upgrade its mission in Kabul to the status of an embassy and has pledged to resume full diplomatic relations.
These moves are being made when international sanctions against Afghanistan are in place. For context, the UN Security Council had waived a travel ban on Muttaqi, who is on a list of international terrorists, to enable him to visit India.
India has had a chequered relationship with Afghanistan, where New Delhi now has major investments, especially in the infrastructure sector, and has extended humanitarian and other aid. A large part of this aid is in the form of food. India is trying to revive ties that were disrupted by the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. It has supported Afghanistan, along with Russia and China, on the issue of the Bagram air base, which United States President Donald Trump wants to take over. China already has a footprint in Afghanistan, and India’s efforts to improve bilateral relations with that country are grounded in a new geopolitical reality. It is a situation similar to the Great Game, and India has to ensure that it is not left behind, especially when its relations with Pakistan are fraught and there is uncertainty over its equations with China.
The joint statement commits both countries to develop their relations in all areas and, hopefully, these will see steady improvement. Muttaqi has declared that his country will never be used as a base for cross-border terrorism against India and condemned the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. Both countries have emphasised “respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
This is important in view of the territorial and other disputes between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and those between India and Pakistan. The two countries also plan to develop economic and trade relations, though trade is at present limited by the US sanctions on Iran’s Chabahar port. Improving relations with Afghanistan is important not only in the India-Pakistan context but also in view of India’s troubled ties with its other neighbours in South Asia.