For the first time since Kabul fell in 2021, a top Taliban leader is set to visit India. Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will arrive in New Delhi during a period of shifting regional dynamics. India recently joined China, Pakistan and other nations in supporting a Moscow led statement opposing United States plans to restore a military presence at the Bagram airbase, once central to America’s war effort in Afghanistan. This move places India in rare alignment with the Taliban and other regional powers, though experts see it as strategic diplomacy focused on safeguarding national interests. India’s main concerns remain counterterrorism, securing regional trade routes, and ensuring Afghan territory is not used for hostile actions, while protecting strategic projects such as the Chabahar port. Although India has not formally recognised the Taliban, official engagement has steadily increased.