Jaishankar speaks to Taliban FM, first political outreach since Kandahar hijack, thanks him for support after Pahalgam

In a significant diplomatic step, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held a telephonic conversation with Taliban’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, marking the first political-level contact between India and the Taliban leadership since 2021.

During the conversation, Jaishankar welcomed Afghanistan’s rejection of recent attempts to “create distrust” between the two nations, particularly reports from sections of Pakistani media alleging Indian involvement in a "false flag" operation in Pahalgam.

"Welcomed his firm rejection of recent attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan through false and baseless reports," Jaishankar wrote on X.

Taliban condemned Pakistan-linked terror in J&K

The conversation follows Afghanistan’s condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack, where 26 people were killed by Pakistan-linked terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. Jaishankar expressed gratitude to Muttaqi for the condemnation.

“Deeply appreciate his condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack,” he posted, describing the interaction as a “good conversation.”

He further stated that he had reaffirmed India’s traditional friendship with the Afghan people and reiterated New Delhi’s commitment to supporting their development needs. “Discussed ways and means of taking cooperation forward,” he added.

India resumes cautious contact with Taliban regime

This was the first direct political-level conversation between the two countries since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. While India has yet to officially recognise the Taliban government, it has engaged in backchannel dialogue and limited technical assistance.

Earlier this year, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Amir Muttaqi in Dubai, while following the Pahalgam incident, India’s special envoy Anand Prakash, Director General for Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan at the MEA, travelled to Kabul for discussions on bilateral political engagement, trade, and regional security.

First political outreach since the Kandahar hijack era

The last time India had such direct political-level contact with a Taliban government was during the IC-814 hijacking crisis in 1999–2000, when then External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh was in touch with Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil.