New Delhi: Four years after the Taliban seized full control of Afghanistan, India announced on Friday (October 10) that it would upgrade its technical mission in Kabul to the level of an embassy during the first visit to the country by the Taliban regime’s foreign minister.External affairs minister S. Jaishankar made the announcement in his opening remarks at the formal talks with Amir Khan Muttaqi at Hyderabad House on Friday. Later, the visiting minister told reporters that India had agreed to permit the Taliban to appoint its diplomats at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi.India had obtained a travel waiver form the United Nations Security Council’s sanction panel for Muttaqi to make a six-day visit to India, during which he will travel to multiple cities across the country.The Afghan minister, with his delegation, arrived at Hyderabad House for the start of the talks, where Jaishankar was waiting to greet them in front of photographers. But unlike usual protocol, there were no flags visible in the background. Neither were there any national flags on the table.Still, the smiles were warm as Jaishankar talked about strengthening ties with Kabul. “Closer cooperation between us contributes to your national development, as well as regional stability and resilience. To enhance that, I am pleased to announce today the upgrading of India’s Technical Mission in Kabul to the status of Embassy of India,” he said.At present, about a dozen countries have ambassadors in Kabul, including Pakistan, China, Iran, Russia, Japan, Qatar and the UAE.On the eve of the meeting, tensions between Kabul and Islamabad resurfaced after explosions were heard in the Afghan capital on Thursday night, reportedly targeting a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan leader.Afghanistan’s defence ministry later confirmed that Pakistani forces had carried out airstrikes in Kabul and the Paktika province, though it did not specify casualties. Pakistan’s military did not publicly confirm the strikes but warned that the Afghan authorities should “not allow your soil to be used for terrorism against Pakistan”.In Delhi, Jaishankar asserted that India was “fully committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan”.He stated that India and Afghanistan shared “a common commitment towards growth and prosperity” but faced “a shared threat of cross-border terrorism”. Both ministers, the joint statement noted, “unequivocally condemned all acts of terrorism emanating from regional countries”.In his opening remarks, Muttaqi told the Indian side that the Taliban had never issued any statements against India, even during their conflict with the previous Islamic Republic.“During the American occupation, there [were] many ups and downs that happened. However, throughout this time we never gave a statement against India. Rather, we always sought good relations with India,” he said.Muttaqi also reiterated that Kabul “will not allow any group to threaten anyone else or use the territory of Afghanistan against others”.He noted that the Taliban administration had taken “strong measures” against Islamic State elements. He said regional countries needed to cooperate against such threats for “the common prosperity of both nations”.Later speaking to reporters, Muttaqi said that Kabul’s issues with Pakistan cannot be resolved by force. “Just as we want good relations with India, we want good ties with Pakistan. But these relations can only be built from both sides, it can’t be done by one side.”After the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, India withdrew its diplomats from Kabul, cancelled visas issued to Afghan nationals and shut down its embassy.Although New Delhi does not formally recognise the Taliban administration, it has gradually expanded its engagement in recent years.Within a year of the takeover, India deployed a “technical team” to Kabul, which has since functioned as its de facto mission. Since then, Indian officials have made regular visits to Afghanistan and held meetings with Taliban representatives during regional gatherings.Afghan embassies and consulates in India are now largely staffed by diplomats aligned with the Taliban authorities.Political contact gained momentum after foreign secretary Vikram Misri’s meeting with Muttaqi in Doha in January, followed by the first phone conversation between Jaishankar and the Afghan minister in May.During that call, Jaishankar said he “welcomed his firm rejection of recent attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan through false and baseless reports” after Kabul dismissed claims that India had fired missiles and drones inside Afghanistan during its four-day military clash with Pakistan.While Jaishankar said India’s diplomatic presence was being raised to the “status of an embassy”, the phrasing was deliberately cautious, stopping short of confirming a full embassy – a move that would imply formal recognition of the Taliban government.The Afghan embassy in New Delhi still flies the tricolour flag of the former Afghan Republic, not the Taliban’s black and white banner.The Taliban has also not been allowed to appoint a full-term ambassador in Delhi, a position that remains unchanged for now.At a separate media briefing at the Afghan embassy, seated behind a table displaying the Taliban flag, Muttaqi said Jaishankar had informed him that the Taliban could now appoint diplomats in Delhi and that Kabul would soon begin identifying candidates.“This is my first visit to India and it was decided that India will upgrade its technical mission in Kabul to a diplomatic mission and our diplomats will come to New Delhi. Gradually, the goal is to take things to normal,” he said.The Taliban remains unrecognised by most of the international community. Afghanistan’s seat at the United Nations is still held by a representative appointed by the former Islamic Republic, and UN documents refer to the Taliban as the “de facto authorities” in Kabul.Recently, however, Russia became the first country to formally recognise the Taliban as the legitimate government in Afghanistan.Jaishankar said India’s longstanding development partnership with Afghanistan “stands renewed” and proposed discussions on the maintenance and completion of earlier Indian-funded projects, as well as identifying new areas of cooperation.He announced that India was ready to commit to six new projects, including in healthcare, and would gift 20 ambulances to Afghanistan. Five of these were handed over to Muttaqi in New Delhi as a “symbolic step”.He said India would contribute to rebuilding homes in earthquake-affected areas and help construct residences for forcibly repatriated Afghan refugees, whose “dignity and livelihood” he described as a matter of “deep concern”.He also noted that both countries had “a productive history of cooperating on water management and irrigation” and were ready to take that forward.The joint statement echoed this, recording appreciation for India’s role in constructing and maintaining the India-Afghanistan Friendship (Salma) Dam in Herat and agreement to cooperate on hydroelectric and irrigation projects “to address Afghanistan’s energy needs and support its agricultural development”.In 2024, India had dispatched a team from the public sector firm Wapcos to inspect the Salma Dam, which was the first visit by Indian technicians to an Indian infrastructure project site since the Taliban returned to power.On trade and connectivity, Jaishankar welcomed new flights between Kabul and New Delhi, while both sides noted the start of the India-Afghanistan air freight corridor to “streamline connectivity and enhance bilateral trade”.Muttaqi invited Indian companies to invest in Afghanistan’s mining sector, which the joint statement said would help “strengthen bilateral trade and commercial relations”.With uncertainty surrounding India’s operations at Iran’s Chabahar port after the Donald Trump administration revoked its sanctions waiver, Muttaqi said at a media briefing at the Afghan embassy that Afghanistan and India should “should jointly talk with America and also talk between ourselves and derive the maximum benefits from this route”.He also called on both India and Pakistan to reopen the trade corridor through the Wagah border, which New Delhi closed after the Pahalgam terror attack.“The Wagah route is the shortest for Afghanistan … Pakistan and India should not close this route because economic, human and trade issues should not be mixed with political issues,” he said.