Nearly five years after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, Kabul has appointed its first envoy to India, marking a significant milestone in diplomatic engagement between the two countries. 

Noor Ahmad Noor, a Taliban-appointed diplomat, has assumed responsibility as Chargé d’Affaires at the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi, the first such posting to India since the Taliban returned to power more than four years ago. The move is the latest step in cultivating goodwill, as India’s role evolves in Afghanistan.

The renewed political and economic engagement with the Taliban comes at a time of surging cross-border violence between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which has plunged relations between the two neighbors to a dangerously low point. Just this week, tensions flared back up after a fresh round of deadly strikes and clashes. And nuclear-armed India wasted no time in strongly condemning Islamabad over the attacks and voiced support for Kabul’s sovereignty.

Against this backdrop of sustained hostilities, India stands out as one country that has much to gain. Experts say India’s reset with the Taliban reflects a pragmatic policy, aimed at countering Pakistani influence while protecting its own long-term security interests in the region.
 

«This is a classic case of ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend,’» Sid Dubey, a visiting professor at Bennett University in India, told Fox News. «The only thing the two parties are mutually aligned on is Pakistan and the enmity both have toward the Islamic Republic.»

Kabul’s rapidly deteriorating relationship with Islamabad factors heavily into India’s calculations. For decades, Pakistan sought what it called «strategic depth» in Afghanistan, backing Taliban factions to ensure a friendly government in Kabul. But now, as frictions rise over border disputes, closer coordination between India and Afghanistan stretches Pakistan’s capacity to manage tensions on multiple fronts. 

At the same time, analysts say, it gives India the opportunity to extend its influence in the region at the expense of another rival, China. Furthermore, Pakistan buffers India and Afghanistan, making strategic alignment between New Delhi and Kabul particularly significant.

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Eastern Afghanistan shares a border with India’s neighbor Pakistan. (AP Photo)

«Afghanistan is cursed by its geography and proximity to foreign powers who will always meddle,» Dubey explained, as regional fault lines only continue to sharpen. «And with virtually no American influence on the Taliban government anymore, Delhi feels secure in going ahead with its own India-centric Afghan policy.»

Like most other countries, India does not formally recognize the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, both nations have been taking a series of quiet but significant steps to deepen ties. Over the last year, several high-level diplomatic interactions have been billed as groundbreaking. Cooperation has expanded across the board, from healthcare and humanitarian aid to cultural exchanges and economic projects.

Dubey claimed there’s another big reason for Delhi’s push. «India supports all this in the hope or understanding that one day, if needed, India can use Afghanistan as a platform to strike Pakistan.»

Indian soldiers stand guard as a Kashmiri Muslim man walks by,  in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

For its part, Kabul is embracing this new era of cooperation, hailing the stronger ties with India as Pakistan views these developments with deep suspicion. Engagement with India also offers the Taliban a measure of legitimacy on the world stage. 

As Dubey noted, Afghanistan remains one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world, heavily dependent on external assistance, making India’s aid extremely beneficial.

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Anand Prakash, joint secretary of the Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran (PAI) Division at India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Afghanistan’s Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Vikramjit Singh Sahney, member of Rajya Sabha and an Indian entrepreneur, participate in a roundtable at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in New Delhi, India, Oct. 13, 2025. (Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters)

If sustained, India’s growing engagement with the Taliban could reshape changing regional dynamics. A weakened Pakistan-Taliban relationship undercuts Islamabad’s long-standing leverage in Kabul, altering the formerly established balance of power. It also complicates China’s calculus, as Beijing weighs its own security concerns.

Looking further ahead, if Washington again expands its involvement in Afghanistan, New Delhi could serve as a key intermediary, given that U.S. and Indian ties are also on an upward trajectory.

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Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that the Democrats’ behavior during the State of the Union address this week «showed us that we cannot give power back to congressional Democrats» in the midterm elections this November. 

Vance, speaking during a visit to a machining factory in Plover, Wisconsin, made the remark before ripping Democrats for not standing up Tuesday in support of Dalilah Coleman, a young child who survived after an illegal immigrant from India allegedly struck the car she was in on a highway in San Bernardino County, California, in June 2024. 

«I want to talk about the stakes coming up in November because it feels like this election in November is very far away. But, if anything, the State of the Union should have showed us that we cannot give power back to congressional Democrats,» Vance said. 

«Now, I am fundamentally an optimist about this country. I believe most people, most human beings, most American citizens, whether they got a D next to their name or an R next to the name or they have no political affiliation, they’re good people. 

«They love our country. They want our country to thrive and prosper. But I got to tell you, after the State of the Union, I’m not so sure that is true of the congressional Democrats that we saw at the State of the Union address.

«For example, you have this beautiful little girl. She had such a sweet moment with her dad. You may have remembered. She was probably 6 years old. She had been assaulted by an illegal immigrant. She had had a very bad, I think, medical prognosis. But it turned out that she was OK. This 6-year-old girl, hurt by a human being who never should have been in this country in the first place, who was led into this country by Joe Biden, the Democrats,» Vance said. 

«And she’s hugging her dad, and she’s so excited. And you can tell, and I think everybody’s heart feels very, you know, you get that warm and fuzzy feeling. And then I look over at the congressional Democrats, and they’re just scowling. They cannot clap their hands for a 6-year-old who survived an attack from an illegal alien. What is that?» the vice president added. 

«What kind of a person can’t stand up and cheer for an innocent young girl who’s doing well, who’s showing the entire country strength and resilience?» 

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Marcus Coleman holds his daughter Dalilah Coleman as President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C.  (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The man driving the 18-wheeler that allegedly struck Coleman was identified as Partap Singh, who was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and immigration-related charges. 

«I think when that little girl was standing up hugging and kissing her dad, that those Democrats, there was at least a part of them, the human part and their soul that wanted to stand up and cheer for that little girl. And all of them sat on their hands. And you have to ask yourself, why is that?» Vance also said.

Republican members of Congress stand while Democrats keep their seats during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Alex Brandon/AP)

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«And the answer is because they know they don’t answer to you, they answer to somebody else. They answer to people who have corrupted this country,» he concluded. 

«They answer to the people who open the border. They answer the people who got rich off of illegal immigrant labor. We want you guys to get rich off of the labor of American citizens. We want American workers to get rich for working hard, not illegal aliens. 

«And that, to me, is the fundamental difference between congressional leadership and congressional Democrats and the congressional Republicans under the leadership of this president.» 

Fox News Digital’s Adam Sabes contributed to this report. 

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India and Israel declared themselves a «special strategic partnership» on Thursday after signing 16 new agreements, the two countries announced in a joint statement on Thursday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel this week. Representatives of the two countries held working meetings this week to discuss agreements spanning security, agriculture, water, development and labor.

«This is an amazing visit. An amazing conclusion to an amazing visit,» Netanyahu said alongside Modi. «It was short, but extraordinarily productive and also extraordinarily moving.»

«The future belongs to those who innovate, and Israel and India are bent on innovation. We are proud ancient civilizations, very proud of our past, but also absolutely determined to seize our future and we can do it better together.» he added.

The two countries ultimately signed 16 agreements spanning a range of topics, including articifial intelligence, cultural exchange, agriculture, and energy, with Netanyahu adding that they are still working on a more «concrete» agreement.

«This friendship is built on a deep foundation of democratic and human values,» Modi said, as translated by Israel’s Ynet News. «Our ties have stood the test of time. Today we made a historic decision to elevate our longstanding partnership to a special strategic partnership, symbolizing the aspirations of our two peoples.»

The elevated relationship comes as the U.S. and Israel have ramped up tensions with Iran. The U.S. has undergone a massive military buildup in the region, and Netanyahu discussed Iran with President Donald Trump during a White House visit earlier this month.

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President Donald Trump bids farewell to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he leaves the White House. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Trump said Wednesday that he wants to resolve tensions with Iran through diplomacy, but he also accused Tehran of expanding its missile capabilities.

«They’ve already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas,» he said. «And they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.»

«My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy,» Trump added. «They want to make a deal. But we haven’t heard those secret words: we will never have a nuclear weapon.»

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«But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror … to have a nuclear weapon. Can’t let that happen.»

Fox News’ Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.

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