NEW DELHI - India on Friday upgraded ties with Afghanistan's Taliban administration, giving a boost to the diplomatically isolated group, by announcing it would reopen its embassy in Kabul that was shut after the Taliban seized power in 2021.

India closed the embassy following the withdrawal of U.S.-led NATO forces from war-torn Afghanistan four years ago, though it launched a small mission in 2022 to facilitate trade, medical support and humanitarian aid. 

About a dozen countries including China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey have embassies operating in Kabul, although Russia is the only country to have formally recognised the Taliban administration, whose members are under U.N. sanctions including a travel ban and asset freeze.

INDIA'S MOVE INFLUENCED BY TENSIONS WITH PAKISTAN, CHINA

India's announcement came during talks in New Delhi between Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and his counterpart in the Taliban administration, Amir Khan Muttaqi, who is on a six-day visit after getting a temporary exemption on his travel ban.

It was the first such trip to India by a Taliban leader since 2021.

India and Afghanistan have historically had friendly ties, but New Delhi does not recognise the Taliban government.

India and the Taliban are now recalibrating their ties because of souring relations with their neighbour Pakistan as well as New Delhi's concerns about major power rival China making inroads in Afghanistan, said Harsh Pant, foreign policy head at India's Observer Research Foundation think-tank.

"Engagement does not mean endorsement. There are many things that India is uncomfortable about (under Taliban rule) - minority rights, gender rights, and the human rights landscape in Afghanistan," he said.

"But there is a pragmatism inherent in India's engagement with the Taliban ... And this visit is, in some ways, continuing that tradition. It certainly can be considered the beginning of a new phase in India-Afghanistan relations under the Taliban government, which have been one-di...