New Delhi, Oct. 15 -- When Afghanistan's Foreign Minister from the Taliban government, Amir Khan Muttaqi, landed in New Delhi, the visit drew global attention. Yet behind the quiet diplomacy and polite handshakes, something important was unfolding. For the first time since the Taliban seized Kabul in 2021, India is now openly hosting one of its senior leaders. This wasn't about friendship but about strategy. The geopolitical landscape around Afghanistan has shifted, and India knows that isolation is no longer an option if it wishes to protect its interests.

For years, India kept the Taliban at a distance. New Delhi had invested heavily in Afghanistan's democratic government-building roads, hospitals, and schools-while refusing to engage ...