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S Jaishankar held a cellphone name with Taliban’s Overseas Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi
This marks India’s first ministerial-level outreach to the Taliban regime.
Dr Jaishankar appreciated Taliban’s condemnation of the Pahalgam terror assault.
New Delhi:
Scripting a brand new chapter in regional dynamics, Exterior Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday spoke with the Taliban’s appearing Overseas Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi over an official cellphone name. The decision assumes significance as it’s the first ministerial-level outreach by India to Afghanistan’s Taliban administration.
Dr Jaishankar’s name to Mr Muttaqi comes days after Afghanistan’s Taliban regime, which New Delhi is but to formally recognise, condemned the Pahalgam terror assault, during which 26 civilians, all vacationers, have been killed by Pakistan-linked terrorists in a religiously-motivated assault in Jammu and Kashmir.
‘MINISTERIAL-LEVEL TALKS – A FIRST WITH TALIBAN’
In a put up on social media platform X shortly after the cellphone name, Dr Jaishankar wrote, “Good dialog with Appearing Afghan Overseas Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi this night. Deeply recognize his condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist assault.” He added that in the course of the dialogue he “underlined our (India’s) conventional friendship with the Afghan folks and persevering with help for his or her growth wants. Mentioned methods and technique of taking cooperation ahead.”
‘A REBUTTAL TO PAKISTAN’
Countering Pakistan’s false narrative of linking the Taliban to the incidents in Jammu and Kashmir and India’s response to it, Dr Jaishankar wrote that he welcomed Mr Muttaqi’s “agency rejection of current makes an attempt to create mistrust between India and Afghanistan by way of false and baseless stories” within the Pakistani media.
Good dialog with Appearing Afghan Overseas Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi this night.
Deeply recognize his condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist assault.
Welcomed his agency rejection of current makes an attempt to create mistrust between India and Afghanistan by way of false and…
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) Could 15, 2025
‘IMPORTANCE OF IRAN’S CHABAHAR PORT’
In response to Taliban’s Director of Communication Hafiz Zia Ahmad, in the course of the name, Mr Muttaqi requested Dr Jaishankar to supply extra visas to Afghan nationals, particularly to these searching for medical consideration. He additionally talked about that bilateral commerce, launch and return of Afghan prisoners in Indian jails, and growth of the Chabahar Port in Iran have been mentioned.
The senior Taliban official shared a sequence of posts within the Pashto language, which broadly listed what was mentioned between the 2 ministers.
د ا.ا.ا. د بهرنیو چارو وزیر محترم مولوي امیر خان متقي او د هند جمهوریت د بهرنیو چارو وزیر ښاغلي جې شنکر ټيلیفوني خبرې وکړې.
په دې مکالمه کې د دوو اړخیزو اړیکو پر پیاوړتیا، تجارت او د دیپلوماتیکو اړیکو د کچې پر لوړولو خبرې وشوې. pic.twitter.com/weErRrvARu— Hafiz Zia Ahmad (@HafizZiaAhmad) Could 15, 2025
او ناروغانو ته د هند د ویزو په ورکړه کې د اسانتیاوو او په هند کې د افغان بندیانو د خلاصېدو او هیواد ته د راستنولو غوښتنه وکړه.
د هند د بهرنیو چارو وزیر ښاغلي جې شنکر هم له افغانستان سره د هند اړیکې تاریخي وبللې او زیاته یې کړه، چې هېواد به يې له افغانستان سره خپلو همکاریو ته…
— Hafiz Zia Ahmad (@HafizZiaAhmad) Could 15, 2025
Dialogue on Chabahar Port assumes significance at a time when India and Pakistan have utterly ended all commerce ties and closed its border posts within the wake of the Pahalgam terror assault. Being a land-locked nation, Afghanistan feels the influence, because it relies on land routes through Pakistan to succeed in India.
India and Afghanistan share a land border too, however that has remained cut-off by Pakistan-occupied Kashmir or PoK since 1947. The one different possibility for commerce is through the Chabahar Port in Iran.
‘FOSTERING TIES WITH THE TALIBAN’
India and the Taliban administration have been taking steps to strengthen ties since August 2021, when the regime got here to energy after US’ withdrawal from Afghanistan. Through the years, a sequence of conferences between Indian diplomats and Taliban officers have labored in direction of broader cooperation between the 2 international locations which have shared historic ties.
Although ties haven’t but normalised, India’s coverage in direction of Afghanistan beneath the Taliban regime has been centered on offering humanitarian assist and the well-being of Afghan residents. Diplomatic initiatives have additionally been ongoing in direction of bringing normalcy to ties.
As not too long ago as April 27 this 12 months, days after the Pahalgam terror assault, senior Indian diplomat Anand Prakash visited Kabul as tensions peaked between New Delhi and Islamabad over “cross-border terror hyperlinks”. Mr Prakash held a gathering with Mr Muttaqi in the course of the go to.
‘DIPLOMATIC ENGAGEMENTS’
Different key visits by senior Indian diplomats embody these by Mr JP Singh, who visited Afghanistan twice final 12 months – in March to satisfy appearing overseas minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, and in November to satisfy the appearing defence minister Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid. Each conferences occurred in Kabul.
Moreover the conferences in Afghanistan, a high-level assembly additionally came about in Dubai in January this 12 months, when overseas secretary Vikram Misri, together with an Indian delegation met Taliban’s appearing overseas minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and an Afghan delegation. The 2 leaders held wide-ranging bilateral talks, together with on Chabahar Port.
The assembly in Dubai was geared toward bolstering cooperation over humanitarian assist, developmental help, commerce, commerce, sports activities, cultural ties, regional safety, and tasks of nationwide curiosity.
‘CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES’
In current instances, the Authorities of India has additionally permitted the Taliban to regularly take management of the Afghan missions in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad with a view to present consular providers to its nationals in India and help these coming from Afghanistan to India on enterprise or to check, or get medical care.
By way of humanitarian assist, New Delhi had, until December 2024, dispatched a number of shipments consisting of greater than 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat, 300 tonnes of medicines, 27 tonnes of earthquake reduction assist, 40,000 litres of pesticides, 100 million polio doses, 1.5 million doses of the Covid vaccine, 11,000 items of hygiene kits for the drug de-addiction programme, 500 items of winter clothes and 1.2 tonnes of stationery kits, over the previous few years.