In what is surely a major diplomatic manoeuvre, India has opted for calibrated upgradation of its ties with the diplomatically isolated Taliban administration in Afghanistan. Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s rather extended visit to India coincided with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s announcement about re-opening the Indian embassy in Kabul and resuming several development projects in the war-ravaged country.

With this, India joins a handful of countries including China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey which have embassies operating in Afghanistan. While New Delhi has been steadily engaging the Taliban after its initial reticence, Muttaqi’s official visit marks an acknowledgement of the engagement, although New Delhi still does not formally recognise the present Afghan administrati

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