India on Friday decided to upgrade its technical mission in Kabul to an embassy, signalling an intent to deepen its engagement with a Taliban regime that is at odds with Islamabad over the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s alleged safe havens on Afghan soil.

External affairs minister S. Jaishankar made the announcement in his opening remarks at a bilateral meeting with his Afghan counterpart, Amir Khan Muttaqi, along with their delegations at Hyderabad House here.

Later, briefing journalists separately, Muttaqi said that diplomats of the “Islamic Emirate” would also be stationed in India and that Jaishankar had said they can be sent to the embassy in Delhi.

India had closed its Kabul embassy in August 2021 after the Taliban overran Afghanistan. In deciding to reopen it, India has joined about a dozen countries, including Pakistan and China, that have full-fledged embassies in Kabul without recognising the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

Russia is the only country to have recognised the Taliban.

The Indian announcement came as tensions escalated along the Durand Line between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Islamabad had allegedly carried out an operation in the Afghan border province of Paktika on Wednesday night, and a loud noise was heard in Kabul on Thursday night.

Asked about this at the all-male news conference at the Afghan embassy here, Muttaqi blamed Pakistan for the attack in the remote area.

Muttaqi warned that no one should test the courage of Afghans, citing the fate of the Soviet Union, US and Nato forces that had earned the country the reputation of being a “graveyard of empires”.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan Amir Khan Muttaqi addresses a press conference, in New Delhi, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. PTI

Muttaqi said there was no evidence of any damage in Kabul and that the source of the loud noise was still under investigation.

He advocated dialogue and diplomacy, saying what Pakistan had done in the border area was wrong and that no problem can be solved like this.

Pakistan had carried out air strikes in Paktika in January, purportedly targeting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Islamabad has not confirmed or denied launching an attack inside Afghanistan.

In a post on X, the director-general of Pakistan’s Inter Services Public Relations said: “Security Forces have been conducting a series of retribution operations against the Ks (presumably khwarij, meaning rebels) involved in heinous incident that occurred in Orakzai District on 7 October, resulting in the shahadat (martyrdom) of brave sons of soil… including Lieutenant Colonel Junaid Tariq and Major Tayyab Rahat.

“During the conduct of operation, based on credible intelligence, in… Orakzai District, after intense fire exchanges, all thirty Indian sponsored khwarij involved in the Terrorist incident have been sent to hell. These successful operations have avenged the heinous act and have brought the main perpetrators to justice.”

The Afghanistan-Pakistan tensions along the Durand Line found articulation in the joint statement issued after the Jaishankar-Muttaqi meeting, with both sides emphasising their respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“The Afghan foreign minister reiterated the commitment that the Afghan government will not allow any group or individual to use the territory of Afghanistan against India,” the statement said.

In his remarks at the meeting, Muttaqi — who was a minister in the first Taliban regime of the 1990s, too — emphasised that even during the US occupation, the Afghan Taliban had never made a statement against India.

Calling Afghanistan a “contiguous neighbour” — a marked reference to thenarrow 106km Wakhan Corridor that hems Gilgit Baltistan in PoK — Jaishankar advocated coordinated efforts to combat terrorism.

He reaffirmed India’s commitment to the “sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan”.

Jaishankar made no reference to human rights, gender issues or girls’ education in his opening remarks. Neither was there a mention of this in the joint statement.

Muttaqi invited Indian companies to invest in mining in Afghanistan. India has decided to step up humanitarian assistance to Afghans and deepen its engagement in development cooperation projects, including capacity-building.

Muttaqi’s visit has drawn worldwide attention given that this is the first time India is officially hosting a Taliban regime representative. New Delhi has, however, avoided a joint news conference.