Pakistan, Oct. 18 -- Within two days of the Taliban takeover of Kabul, the Indian government closed its embassy in Afghanistan on August 17, 2021. But India never abandoned the effort to re-enter Afghanistan as a strategic space. On June 23, 2022, the Indian government sent a technical team to reopen its embassy in the city with the stated aim of overseeing humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. This was largely seen as the first step towards restoring India's full diplomatic presence in the war-torn country. By October 2025, this technical mission had been upgraded to the level of India's full diplomatic presence in Kabul.

Indian strategic planners saw a strategic opportunity in post 9/11 Afghanistan. With the United States (US) milita...