Why India Lone Critic of Pakistan’s Cross-border Strikes in Afghanistan

July 20, 2026

Following Islamabad’s air
strikes on the Afghan
provinces of Kunar, Paktia,
and Paktika in late June,
India emerged as the only
country to denounce the strikes
publicly. New Delhi still continues
to condemn Pakistan’s cross-border
strikes in Afghanistan at the United
Nations.
Pakistan was widely regarded as
the Taliban’s closest ally and principal
backer from 1996 until the group’s
return to power in Kabul in August
2021. However, relations between the
two have since deteriorated, largely
over the issue of the Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP). Islamabad alleges that
the TTP operates from sanctuaries
inside Afghanistan to carry out attacks
in Pakistan, a charge the Taliban reject,
insisting that the militant group is
Pakistan’s internal problem.
New Delhi’s approach towards the
Taliban has seen a noticeable strategic
recalibration since early 2025. It added
that this deepening engagement has
coincided with the continuing tensions
between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
India’s diplomatic engagement
with the Taliban has gathered
significant momentum over the last
year, particularly after the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) facilitated a
meeting in Dubai between Foreign
Secretary Vikram Misri and Taliban
Foreign Ministry Amir Khan Muttaqi
on January 8, 2025.
That meeting marked a major
diplomatic milestone, as the
relationship between New Delhi and
Taliban-controlled Kabul began to
take a positive turn.
Ahead of the January 2025
meeting, the then Ministry of External
Affairs’ (MEA) Joint Secretary J P
Singh was the senior-most Indian
official to have held discussions with
Taliban officials, including Muttaqi
and Defence Minister Mohammad
Yaqoob, in November 2024.
In October 2025, Muttaqi travelled
to India for a six-day visit, marking
the first trip by a senior Taliban
minister to India.
For Muttaqi’s visit to New Delhi,
a UN committee temporarily lifted
a travel ban on Muttaqi. After his
visit, India handed over the Afghan
Embassy in New Delhi to the Taliban
and sent a charge d’affaires to its
former mission in Kabul. Then the
Taliban’s senior foreign ministry
official, Mufti Noor Ahmad Noor,
arrived in New Delhi in January 2026
to assume responsibility as the charge
d’affaires of the Afghan Embassy.
Taliban Minister of Agriculture,
Irrigation and Livestock Mawlawi
Ataullah Omari visited India with
a high-level delegation between
July 7 and 12, marking the fourth
ministerial-level visit during the last
nine months. According to the MEA,
the series of visits is “reflecting the
continued momentum in bilateral
engagement.” For decades, Pakistan
maintained a policy of ‘strategic
depth’ in Afghanistan, focused on
cultivating a friendly government in
Kabul in order to secure its western
border. However, since the Taliban’s
return to power, Pakistan’s policy
seems to have backfired, as the
Taliban regime tries to assert its
independence. The Taliban refuse
to recognise the Durand Line as a
permanent international border and
reject Pakistan’s interference in
Afghan affairs.