Home
+
Published : 16 May 2025, 11:57 AM
In a landmark diplomatic outreach, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has held a phone conversation with Amir Khan Muttaqi, acting foreign minister of Afghanistan's Taliban regime.
The call on Thursday marked the first ministerial-level contact between India and the Taliban administration, according to Indian broadcaster NDTV.
It comes days after the Taliban regime, which New Delhi is yet to officially recognise, condemned the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, where 26 tourists were killed in a religiously motivated attack allegedly carried out by Pakistan-linked terrorists.
Shortly after the phone call, Jaishankar wrote on X: "Good conversation with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi this evening. Deeply appreciate his condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack."
Jaishankar added that he had reaffirmed India’s "traditional friendship with the Afghan people" and reiterated India’s continuing support for their development needs. He also noted that both sides discussed ways to move bilateral cooperation forward.
The Indian minister welcomed Muttaqi’s "firm rejection of recent attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan through false and baseless reports" in the Pakistani media.
During the call, Muttaqi also requested that India issue more visas to Afghan nationals, especially to those seeking medical attention, according to the Taliban's Director of Communications Hafiz Zia Ahmad.
Although India shares a land border with Afghanistan, it has remained inaccessible via Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) since 1947. The Chabahar Port in Iran is the only alternative trade route between the two countries.
India and the Taliban administration have been taking steps to strengthen ties since August 2021, when the regime came to power after US' withdrawal from Afghanistan. Over the years, a series of meetings between Indian diplomats and Taliban officials have worked towards broader cooperation between the two countries which have shared historic ties.
