A strategic restoration of ties

On January 8, India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Mishri met Afghanistan's acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai, signaling the expansion of India's bilateral ties with Afghanistan.

- SMRUTI S PATTANAIK

This meeting wasn't a surprise as there have been several engagements with the Taliban after India initially shed its reservation on the group and, unlike in the past, was pragmatic about its relations.

It was held following India's condemnation of Pakistan's air strike in Paktika, Afghanistan, that killed 46 Afghans.

Pakistan launched its first cross-border airstrike in March last year in retaliation for the killing of seven soldiers in a suicide attack by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Meanwhile, Pakistan-Taliban relations have deteriorated after the former carried out a cross-border incursion to target the TTP.

Pakistan, which has sought strategic depth in Afghanistan and was instrumental in the Taliban's resurgence in Kabul, has accused the Taliban regime of providing a haven for the TTP.

The TTP has been the Taliban's ideological ally, and its foot soldiers had helped the group in capturing power in Kabul.

Earlier, in retaliation to the Taliban's policy of sheltering the TTP, Pakistan had expelled 1.7 million undocumented Afghan refugees, creating a humanitarian crisis.

The Taliban has always denied the TTP's existence on its soil, but such statements have been mere rhetoric.

Although the Taliban has stated it will respond to these cross-border attacks on the TTP by Pakistan with appropriate security measures, the TTP attacks have been escalating, with casualties surpassing previous figures.

This time, the Taliban were keen to engage with India, given the problems they were having with Islamabad, especially the cross-border attacks.

New Delhi's relations with Kabul have been cautious, and its vital security interests are at stake in Afghanistan.

In the past, the Taliban has made Afghanistan a favorable space for terrorists operating against India.