India told the UN Security Council it favors pragmatic engagement with the Taliban, warning that relying solely on punitive measures will perpetuate a “business as usual” approach. Addressing the council, India’s UN ambassador Parvathaneni Harish urged the UN and the international community to adopt nuanced policies that yield sustainable benefits for the Afghan people.
Harish argued that a coherent strategy should incentivize positive actions and highlighted India’s continued commitment to Afghanistan’s development needs. He pointed to New Delhi’s decision to restore its Technical Mission in Kabul to full embassy status as proof of that resolve and said India will engage with all stakeholders to support comprehensive development, humanitarian assistance, and capacity-building aligned with Afghan priorities.
The ambassador recalled Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s six-day visit to New Delhi in October—the first senior Taliban ministerial visit since 2021—during which External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar announced the mission upgrade and pledged renewed development work. India had withdrawn embassy staff after the Taliban takeover in August 2021 and re-established a diplomatic presence in June 2022 with a technical team. Officials continue to closely monitor security conditions in Afghanistan.
Harish also stressed the need for coordinated action to prevent UN-designated terrorist groups—ISIL, Al Qaeda and their affiliates, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, and proxies such as the Resistance Front—from engaging in cross-border terrorism, a reference broadly interpreted as directed at Pakistan. India joined the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in expressing concern over airstrikes and condemned the killing of innocent civilians, including women, children and cricketers.
He raised alarm over what he called “trade and transit terrorism,” criticizing closures that deny landlocked Afghanistan access to trade. Harish said such measures violate WTO norms and amount to open threats against a fragile nation trying to rebuild. While condemning those acts, he reaffirmed India’s support for Afghanistan’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.
India reiterated its long-standing advocacy for peace and stability in Afghanistan and emphasized the need for regional and international cooperation and robust engagement with relevant parties. Humanitarian assistance and capacity-building remain priorities: India implements over 500 development partnership projects across all provinces and, following Muttaqi’s visit, plans to deepen cooperation in healthcare, public infrastructure and skills development. New Delhi also intends to continue collaboration with UN agencies on health, food security, education and sports.
Harish noted that the November 19–25 visit to India by Afghan Minister of Industry and Commerce Alhaj Nooruddin Azizi and his trade delegation advanced cooperation on connectivity, trade facilitation and market access, reinforcing the economic dimension of India’s engagement with Afghanistan.
