"As the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 following the chaotic withdrawal of US forces, which triggered the collapse of the Western-backed government in Kabul, India was forced to shut its embassy and hurriedly pull out its diplomats and citizens. More than four years later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government has rolled out a red carpet for an Afghan delegation led by the Taliban administration's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in the capital, New Delhi."
"The Afghan foreign minister's weeklong trip the first official visit by a Taliban leader is being billed as groundbreaking. Muttaqi, who remains on the United Nations sanctions list, arrived in India after receiving a temporary travel exemption from the world body. India's reset with the Taliban, experts say, is part of a policy of pragmatism, as New Delhi aims to counter Pakistani influence in Afghanistan, whose relationship with Pakistan, India's arch foe, has been strained over cross-border attacks."
As the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 after the US withdrawal and the collapse of the Western-backed government in Kabul, India shut its embassy and evacuated diplomats and citizens. More than four years later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government hosted Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, who traveled on a UN temporary travel exemption. Meetings in New Delhi covered diplomatic, trade, and economic ties; India announced plans to reopen its embassy in Kabul. New Delhi frames the reset as pragmatic countermeasure to Pakistani influence, while some analysts warn that hosting Taliban leaders confers legitimacy and de facto recognition.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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