NEW DELHI, October 10, 2025: India has officially announced its decision to reopen its embassy in Kabul, marking a major diplomatic shift and a formal upgrade of its presence from a technical mission to a full embassy after nearly four years of closure following the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, reports Reuters.
India’s latest moves and cosiness with the Taliban government in Kabul analysts believe is a strategic setback for Pakistan, it is keenly watching. The new geopolitical dynamics in South Asia could throw up many more surprises, as China, Russia and India chart their influence in Afghanistan.
The major announcement was made on Oct. 10, 2025, during the visit of the Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to New Delhi, which was the first high-level engagement between Indian and Taliban officials since 2021.
External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar said the existing technical mission, established for humanitarian support and trade, will now be upgraded to a diplomatic mission—a fully functioning embassy in Kabul.
The Taliban government reciprocated by agreeing to send diplomats to India, although not yet at the ambassadorial level.
India had shut down its embassy in Kabul after the withdrawal of U.S.-led NATO forces in 2021 and had since maintained a technical team there. The reset in diplomatic engagement is partly shaped by India’s strained relations with Pakistan and concerns over China’s growing influence in Afghanistan.
Despite reopening the embassy, India has not formally recognized the Taliban regime and remains concerned about issues including counterterrorism, minority rights, and the suppression of women’s freedoms.
India has reaffirmed its commitment to Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, announcing additional development projects and continued humanitarian aid. As part of goodwill, India has decided to gifted 20 ambulances and medical equipment during the ministerial meeting.
The Taliban foreign minister assured that Afghan territory would not be used to stage attacks against other countries, directly addressing long-standing Indian security concerns. Both sides reiterated their interest in strengthening ties, enhancing economic cooperation, and ensuring regional stability.
The New York Times says, “In a sign of escalating geopolitical tensions, the announcement came on a day the Taliban’s defense ministry accused India’s archnemesis Pakistan, which had provided the group support during its insurgency against the U.S. force, of carrying out airstrikes in the Afghan territory along the border as well as “breaching the skies” of Kabul.”
“Observers saw in the careful language a confirmation of reports that Pakistani airstrikes had been behind the explosions reported in central Kabul late on Thursday. On social media, there were suggestions, including by former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and a former senior American official, that the explosions were the result of Pakistani airstrikes.”
New Delhi’s move is seen as a strategic setback for Pakistan, which is closely monitoring the evolving India-Taliban relationship.
INDIA AFGHANISTAN Joint Statement, October 10, 2025. PIB
UPDATE: India’s opposition parties have criticised the exclusion of women reporters from the media conference (October 10, 2025) of Afghan Foreign Minister held in the Afghan Embassy. ” “(Tali)ban on female journalists in India. Shocking and unacceptable that the Govt of India agreed to it – and that too in New Delhi on the eve of the International Day of the Girl Child,” Congress communication chief Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X,” reports The Hindu (The Evening Wrap, 11 Oct, 2025)
It adds: The Communist Party of India general secretary D. Raja urged the Ministry of External Affairs to explain how it agreed to “permit this discriminatory spectacle”. “This is not diplomatic nuance. This is nourishment to patriarchal ideology that wants to erase half the world from public life. We must call it out, without hesitation,” he added.
