India deepens sub-formal engagement with Taliban five years after Kabul evacuation

Afghanistan has been central to India's neighbourhood strategy for decades. The two countries share deep civilisational ties, and the ancient Uttarapatha trade route once linked the Indian subcontinent to Central Asia through Afghan territory. After the fall of the first Taliban regime in 2001, India invested heavily in rebuilding Afghanistan. The India-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement (2011), the first such agreement Afghanistan signed with any country, anchored a developmental partnership worth over USD 3 billion. Key projects included the Zaranj-Delaram Highway, the Salma Dam, and the Afghan Parliament building in Kabul. These investments were designed to build goodwill, secure connectivity to Central Asia, and counter Pakistani influence in Kabul.

The Taliban's return to power in August 2021, following the withdrawal of US-led NATO forces, upended this architecture. India evacuated its entire embassy from Kabul and closed all consulates. The internationally-backed government of President Ashraf Ghani collapsed within weeks. The Taliban administration has since received no formal diplomatic recognition from the United Nations or any major Western power. The regime has issued over 100 restrictive decrees, barring an estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls from secondary education and excluding women from most employment and public life.