Kabul Struggles to Balance its Ties Between India and Pakistan
DID Press: Afghanistan faces a longstanding challenge: finding a balance that preserves relations with both India and Pakistan while safeguarding its national interests. This balancing act becomes especially difficult when Pakistan perceives any rapprochement between Kabul and Delhi as a threat to its national security and responds aggressively.
Afghanistan’s relations with Pakistan and India have long been among the most complex aspects of Kabul’s foreign policy. The complexity stems not only from Afghanistan’s geographic position but also from the historical rivalry between Islamabad and New Delhi, which forces Kabul into difficult choices.
Pakistan, sharing a long border with Afghanistan, has historically regarded itself as a key stakeholder in Afghan political developments. Over the decades, Islamabad has played a decisive role in shaping power dynamics in Afghanistan through support for various groups, an intervention that has often hindered the consolidation of strong central governance and left Kabul in a vulnerable position.
Conversely, India has maintained longstanding political and economic ties with Afghanistan. New Delhi sees Afghanistan as an opportunity to counterbalance Pakistan’s influence in the region and seeks to strengthen its position through development aid and proactive diplomacy.
The main challenge for Afghanistan is to maintain this balance while ensuring its national interests. The difficulty is compounded when Pakistan reacts sharply to any attempt by Kabul to expand relations with India.
The recent visit of Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to India, coinciding with heightened border tensions with Pakistan, exemplifies this complex equation. Pakistani incursions into border regions during Muttaqi’s presence in New Delhi sent a clear message: Kabul cannot expand ties with India without incurring costs.
This approach by Pakistan, which contradicts principles of national sovereignty and political independence, places Afghanistan in a precarious position. Kabul must navigate between border security and international engagement—a dilemma no sovereign nation should face.
As an independent country, Afghanistan has the inherent right to define its foreign policy according to national interests. This includes establishing or expanding relations with India or any other country without seeking approval from external powers. Political independence and territorial integrity, fundamental pillars of the international order, guarantee this right.
A viable solution lies in developing a balanced and principled foreign policy centered on Afghanistan’s national interests. Such a policy should be grounded in mutual respect, non-interference, and regional cooperation. Only then can Afghanistan escape cycles of dependency and pressure and achieve a sustainable balance in relations with both Delhi and Islamabad.
By Rahmatullah Enayati – DID Press Agency