Today, India decided to reopen its embassy in Kabul, marking an unprecedented political step towards the Taliban government. The announcement came after Pakistan struck the Afghan capital to eliminate Noor Wali Mehsud, leader of the Pakistani Taliban. These developments are part of a new phase in the conflict between India and Pakistan, which began with Operation Sindoor, launched by New Delhi in May in response to an attack in Kashmir.

New Delhi (AsiaNews) – This morning, India upgraded its technical mission in Afghanistan to the rank of embassy, ​​after Pakistan struck Kabul last night with the stated aim of eliminating the leader of the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan or TTP).

Two different actions that are part of the new phase of conflict between India and Pakistan that began in May when New Delhi launched Operation Sindoor in response to a terrorist attack in the Kashmir region that killed dozens of people, mostly Indian tourists.

Since then, the two South Asian neighbours have kept up a bellicose rhetoric and sought new alliances: Pakistan, a key Chinese ally, has achieved a rapprochement with the United States, while India is further deepening diplomatic ties with the Taliban government, which returned to power in August 2021 after 20 years of war following the withdrawal of US-led NATO forces from Afghanistan.

At the time, India, like several other countries, closed its embassy in Kabul, but in 2022 it launched a small mission with the stated purpose of facilitating trade and sending humanitarian aid.

This morning, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in the presence of his Taliban counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi, announced that the Indian embassy in Kabul would resume full operations, despite the Indian government never formally recognising the government of the Islamic Emirate.

India is "fully committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan,” Jaishankar told Muttaqi in his opening remarks.

"Closer cooperation between us contributes to your national development, as well as regional stability and resilience," he added.

Muttaqi's trip to India, the result of extensive diplomatic work by New Delhi, was made possible thanks to the temporary lifting of UN sanctions against him.

The week-long visit is part of the Taliban's efforts to emerge from their diplomatic and economic isolation, but it comes at a time of great tensions with Pakistan.

The Taliban's 2021 comeback and the creation of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan have galvanised the TTP, which emerged as an alliance of militias in 2007 in response to Islamabad's support for the Western invasion of Afghanistan.

The group, which was almost completely wiped out in 2018 following a series of military operations conducted by the Pakistani military, seeks to establish an Islamic government in Pakistan. To this end, it has targeted state infrastructure, especially police and soldiers, with deadly terrorist attacks.

Yesterday, for instance, the group claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack on 7 October against security forces headquarters that killed 11 soldiers.

This morning, the Pakistani army announced that it had killed the 30 fighters responsible for the attack, while accusing India of supporting the terrorists.

Over the past four years, Islamabad has struggled to contain the escalation of violence. Pakistan has become the second most targeted country in the world for terrorism after Burkina Faso.

According to the Islamabad-based Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), not since 2015 have there been so many attacks.

Despite the Taliban’s repeated denials, the TTP receives protection and financial support from its Afghan "cousins”, operating primarily in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the local chief minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, resigned recently at the request of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, currently in prison, and believed responsible for a political rapprochement with the TTP.

Gandapur's resignation is likely part of a political move to allow the Pakistani government to operate freely in the region against the Pakistani Taliban.

This summer, the Pakistani army launched a large-scale offensive, focusing on the Bajaur District, the epicentre of violence.

It is still unclear whether TTP leader Noor Wali Mehsud was killed in yesterday's drone strikes on Kabul. According to some sources, audio recordings have been released to prove he is still alive.

Mehsud, in addition to being considered the leader of the TTP, is close to Afghanistan's supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, who leads the most extremist faction within the Taliban.

Some analysts have speculated that Mehsud's location may have been leaked due to internal rivalries within the Taliban or may have been communicated to Islamabad by US intelligence.

Last month, for the second time in just over three months, the Chief of the Army Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir, met with President Trump at the White House.

The weapons used in the attack, however, are likely Chinese-made, like almost all of Pakistan's military arsenal, 80 per cent of which are imports from China.

The TTP's response was immediate. One of the groups affiliated with the organisation claimed responsibility for an attack on the Haider Kandao military base, located in Tirah, in the Khyber District.

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• india
• pakistan
• afghanistan
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• kabul
• drone attack
• tehrik-e taliban pakistan
• ttp