Relationship dossier
Afghanistan
India
Relationship assessment
A longstanding partnership has narrowed to pragmatic engagement and humanitarian cooperation under Taliban rule.
Afghanistan toward India
+20The Taliban government has engaged with Indian officials and welcomed India's return of a technical team to Kabul in 2022. It has also accepted Indian humanitarian assistance, indicating pragmatic cooperation despite the absence of Indian formal recognition.
India toward Afghanistan
+30India has provided humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, including food and medical aid, and sent a technical team to Kabul in 2022. Before the Taliban takeover, India also maintained extensive development and security cooperation with the Afghan republic; the scope of that partnership has since contracted.
Overall relationship
+25The relationship combines a longstanding record of Indian development and security cooperation with a more limited, pragmatic phase since the Taliban takeover. Humanitarian assistance and official engagement sustain some cooperation, while India's non-recognition of the Taliban government constrains the relationship.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
India and Afghanistan have a history of substantial Indian development assistance and security cooperation. Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, India has maintained pragmatic engagement, including humanitarian aid and a technical presence in Kabul, while not formally recognizing the Taliban government. The current relationship is therefore cooperative in specific areas but narrower than the partnership developed with the former Afghan republic.
Key developments
India and the Afghan republic signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement covering political, security, economic, and cultural cooperation.
India sent a technical team to Kabul and resumed a diplomatic presence focused on humanitarian assistance and engagement with Afghan authorities.
India provided humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, including wheat and medical supplies, after the Taliban takeover.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and durability of Taliban-era engagement with India remain unclear.
- The extent to which pre-2021 cooperation can continue under the current Afghan government is uncertain.