Pakistan has announced an upgrade in its diplomatic relations with Afghanistan under the Taliban regime. The country plans to designate an ambassador to Afghanistan, marking the first such appointment since Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021. This move indicates a potential easing of tensions between Islamabad and Kabul, after ties between the two had deteriorated until recently.
However, this development should not be viewed in isolation. New Delhi’s recent warming of relations with the Taliban may be one of the reasons behind this maneuver by Islamabad. Additionally, Beijing’s increasing engagement in Afghanistan may have also influenced this diplomatic upgrade between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
On May 30, Pakistan announced it would upgrade its diplomatic representation in Afghanistan from a charge d’affaires to the ambassador level. Bilateral relations between the two countries have improved in recent weeks, following the visit of Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to Kabul on April 19.
Dar shared the latest announcement in a post on X, saying that “Pakistan-Afghanistan relations are on [a] positive trajectory.” He said the diplomatic upgrade would “maintain this momentum,” adding, “I am confident this step would further contribute towards enhanced engagement, deepen Pak-Afghan cooperation in economic, security, CT [counterterrorism] & trade areas and promote further exchanges between two fraternal countries.”
Pakistan is indicating its intention to strengthen economic cooperation, increase bilateral trade, and enhance joint efforts to combat terrorism with its neighbor, Afghanistan, which is currently under Taliban control. The Taliban have yet to receive official recognition as the legitimate government of Afghanistan from any country. Nonetheless, this move by Pakistan will provide a diplomatic boost to the Taliban regime. After China, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan, Pakistan now becomes the fourth country to designate an ambassador to Kabul. Russia might soon follow suit, since it removed the Taliban from its terrorist designation list in April.
After Pakistan’s announcement, the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry expressed its approval and stated that it would reciprocate. In a post on X, it said, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan welcomes the decision of the Government of Pakistan to upgrade the level of its diplomatic mission in Kabul to that of an ambassador. In reciprocity, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will elevate the status of its mission in Islamabad from chargé d’affaires to ambassador.”
The Taliban Foreign Ministry further said that “this elevation in diplomatic representation between Afghanistan & Pakistan paves the way for enhanced bilateral cooperation in multiple domains.” This reciprocity from the Taliban side manifests the mending of ties between the two countries after tensions started to accumulate under the Taliban 2.0 regime.
Friction between Pakistan and the Taliban has been rising due to several factors. Pakistan is urging the Taliban to control the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has been using Afghan territory to launch attacks inside Pakistan. This situation is a significant concern for Islamabad, as the TTP has targeted not only Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province but also the densely populated Punjab province and the capital territory of Islamabad. Despite Pakistan’s firm stance and frequent demands, the Taliban regime has seemed unwilling to restrain the group, likely due to the TTP’s allegiance to successive Taliban supreme leaders.
Additionally, the expulsion of Afghan refugees from Pakistan has also contributed to the growing tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan. Since October 2023, approximately 845,000 Afghans have left Pakistan; almost 3 million remain in the country, but Pakistan plans to deport them this year.
Other than these issues, the acceptance of the Durand Line as the international border has long been a bone of contention between the two countries, with or without the Taliban regime in power. There have been ongoing border skirmishes between the military forces of Pakistan and the Taliban over the Durand Line since the group’s takeover of Kabul.
Thus, the easing of tensions is contingent upon resolving these issues following the diplomatic upgrade last week.
However, this diplomatic development from Pakistan’s side did not occur in isolation. The growing engagement between the Taliban and New Delhi could be one of the reasons behind this move. The Afghan Taliban have been moving closer to India, a trend that has become more apparent since the beginning of this year and escalated following the recent conflict between India and Pakistan. As a result, Pakistan’s decision might serve as a counterbalance to India’s growing relationship with the Taliban.
In January 2025, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held a meeting with the Taliban’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai. On April 27, amid growing tensions between India and Pakistan, senior Indian diplomat Anand Prakash visited Kabul. Besides these meetings, India’s Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar held a phone call with Muttaqi and expressed appreciation for the Taliban’s condemnation of the Pahalgam attack. This marked the first ministerial-level contact between New Delhi and Kabul since the Taliban took control.
Traditionally, India has opposed the Taliban and claimed to maintain a “traditional friendship with the Afghan people.” However, despite the Taliban’s ideological differences with India, New Delhi appears to be adopting a pragmatic strategy to safeguard its regional interests. This approach aims to balance India’s priorities against the increasing influence of its archrival Pakistan and regional competitor China in Afghanistan. Thus, Pakistan’s move to strengthen diplomatic relations with the Taliban has partially been influenced by India’s recent engagement with the group.
Furthermore, this move could be part of broader mediation efforts by China, considering that the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China held a meeting in Beijing on May 21. During this meeting, Beijing and Islamabad “reiterated their support for extending the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan under the broader framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation.”
China has become the mediator in relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, a role accepted by Pakistan and most certainly also by the Taliban. China appears optimistic about Pakistan’s diplomatic engagement with the Taliban; Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, “Pakistan’s upgrading of diplomatic relations with Afghanistan will help improve Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, enhance mutual trust, and strengthen cooperation.” Beijing’s rationale behind this mediation is to secure its own regional interests, which are prone to challenges in Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s decision to upgrade its diplomatic ties with the Taliban is both pragmatic and timely. Following the recent conflict with India, Pakistan cannot afford to have another rival in its neighborhood. Additionally, India’s increasing engagement with the Taliban has provided Pakistan with the impetus to reduce tensions with the group. However, this breakthrough would not have been possible without China’s mediation and unwavering support for Pakistan. It is too early to determine how effective this diplomatic move will be, but it could help ease tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban in the short term and may lead to the resolution of outstanding issues, particularly with Beijing’s mediatory role.
