External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had a telephonic conversation with Taliban's acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Thursday. This marked the first political-level contact between India and the Taliban leadership since 2021.

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

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

The conversation came after Afghanistan condemned the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 people were killed by Pakistan-linked terrorists. Jaishankar expressed his appreciation to Muttaqi for the condemnation.

He tweeted, “Deeply appreciate his condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack,” and described the call as a “good conversation.”

He also reaffirmed India’s traditional friendship with the Afghan people. He reiterated India’s commitment to support Afghanistan’s development needs. He added, “Discussed ways and means of taking cooperation forward.”

This call was the first direct political-level conversation between India and the Taliban regime since their return to power in August 2021. India has not officially recognised the Taliban administration but has maintained backchannel dialogue and provided limited technical assistance.

Earlier this year, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Amir Muttaqi in Dubai. Following the Pahalgam incident, India’s special envoy Anand Prakash, Director General for Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan at the Ministry of External Affairs, visited Kabul. He held discussions on bilateral political engagement, trade, and regional security.

India’s last direct political-level contact with a Taliban government took place during the IC-814 hijacking crisis in 1999–2000. Then, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh had communicated with Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil.