India–Pakistan and India–Afghanistan Relations

Neighbourhood First: the framework

India's Neighbourhood First policy (from 2014) gives priority to South Asian neighbours in connectivity, trade, development assistance and crisis response. It operates alongside Act East (South-East Asia and the Indo-Pacific), SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region, 2015, for the Indian Ocean; expanded to MAHASAGAR in 2025) and Think West / Link West (the Gulf). South Asia is one of the least integrated regions in the world: intra-regional trade is a small share of total trade, compared with ASEAN. SAARC (1985, Dhaka) has been largely stalled since its 2016 Islamabad summit was postponed after the Uri attack. India has shifted energy to BIMSTEC and sub-regional groupings such as BBIN.

India–Pakistan: a history of conflict

Core issues

1. Cross-border terrorism. Pakistan-based groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed have carried out major attacks. India's position is that "terror and talks cannot go together". Pakistan was on the FATF grey list in 2012–15 and again in 2018–22.

2. Jammu & Kashmir. India holds that the whole of J&K, including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan, is an integral part of India, and that the 2019 changes are an internal matter. Pakistan internationalises the issue. The Simla Agreement commits both countries to resolve differences bilaterally.

3. Siachen and Sir Creek. Siachen Glacier: India has controlled the Saltoro Ridge since Operation Meghdoot (1984). Sir Creek is a tidal estuary in the Rann of Kutch, disputed over the maritime boundary.

4. Indus Waters Treaty (1960). India gets the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) and Pakistan the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab). India may make limited non-consumptive use of the western rivers, including run-of-the-river hydropower. A Permanent Indus Commission meets periodically. Disputes over the Kishanganga and Ratle projects went to a neutral expert and a court of arbitration. In January 2023 India sought modification of the treaty, and in April 2025 it placed the treaty in abeyance.

5. Trade and connectivity. Trade is small and was largely suspended after 2019. The Kartarpur Corridor (opened November 2019) lets Indian pilgrims visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan visa-free.

Confidence-building measures (CBMs): the agreement on non-attack on nuclear installations (exchange of lists every 1 January since 1992), pre-notification of ballistic missile tests, DGMO hotlines and the LoC ceasefire.

India–Afghanistan

Historical ties: civilisational links through Gandhara and Buddhism (the Bamiyan Buddhas were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001), trade and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan's connection with the freedom movement. India and Afghanistan signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement in 2011, Afghanistan's first with any country.

India's development partnership (2001–2021), more than US$3 billion in total:

• The Afghan Parliament building in Kabul (2015).
• The Salma Dam, renamed the Afghan–India Friendship Dam, in Herat (2016).
• The Zaranj–Delaram highway (2009), linking to Iran's border towards Chabahar.
• Power transmission lines and the Stor Palace restoration.
• Thousands of scholarships, and the Shahtoot dam agreement (2021).

Connectivity: Pakistan denies India land transit to Afghanistan. India therefore developed Chabahar port in Iran (the Shahid Beheshti terminal) and used it to send wheat to Afghanistan. An air freight corridor operated from 2017. In 2024 India signed a 10-year agreement to operate the terminal.

After August 2021: the Taliban took control of Kabul as US forces withdrew. India evacuated its staff, then re-opened a technical team in Kabul in June 2022 to coordinate humanitarian aid, including wheat, medicines and vaccines. India does not formally recognise the Taliban regime, but engagement has increased. India hosted the Taliban foreign minister in October 2025 and announced an upgrade of its Kabul mission. India's concerns are terrorism from Afghan soil (UNSC Resolution 2593, adopted in 2021 under India's presidency), the rights of women and minorities, and an inclusive government.

Practice: Mains question

*"Terrorism remains the central obstacle to normalisation of India–Pakistan relations." Discuss, with reference to recent developments. (150 words)*

Policy debates on Pakistan

India's approach has moved between three options.

Engagement. This was the approach of the Lahore bus diplomacy (1999), the Composite Dialogue (2004–08), which covered eight subjects including J&K, Siachen, Sir Creek, terrorism and trade, and the back-channel talks of 2004–07. Supporters argue that dialogue builds constituencies for peace in Pakistan and reduces the risk of war between nuclear-armed states.

Isolation and coercion. This includes diplomatic campaigns to label Pakistan a sponsor of terrorism (at FATF, the UN and other forums), economic measures such as withdrawing MFN status and imposing a 200% duty on imports (2019), and calibrated military responses (2016, 2019, 2025). Supporters argue that this raises the cost of terrorism. Critics warn of escalation risks under the nuclear shadow.

Conditional engagement. This is India's current stance: talks only in an environment free of terror and violence. India also engages in multilateral settings such as the SCO, where both countries are members.

Role of the Pakistani military. Analysts note that the army dominates Pakistan's security and India policy. Civilian governments that sought peace, such as Nawaz Sharif's in 1999, were undermined. Pakistan's economic crisis, IMF dependence and internal security problems (attacks by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, unrest in Balochistan) shape its choices.

Afghanistan: India's strategic stakes

• Security: preventing anti-India groups from using Afghan territory, and tracking the links between the Taliban, the Haqqani network and Pakistan. Interestingly, relations between the Taliban and Pakistan have deteriorated since 2021 over cross-border attacks.
• Connectivity: Afghanistan is the gateway to Central Asia through Chabahar and the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
• Resources: Afghanistan has mineral deposits. India's earlier interest in the Hajigak iron ore was not realised.
• Goodwill: Indian projects created strong goodwill among Afghans, which India seeks to preserve through humanitarian aid and visas, though visa issuance was restricted after 2021.

Regional formats: the Moscow format, the Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan (November 2021, attended by NSAs of Russia, Iran and the Central Asian states), and the India–Central Asia Joint Working Group on Afghanistan.

Common prelims traps

• The Simla Agreement was signed by Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
• The Tashkent Declaration was mediated by the USSR.
• The Kartarpur Corridor links Dera Baba Nanak (Gurdaspur, Punjab) to Kartarpur Sahib (Narowal, Pakistan).
• Under the IWT, the World Bank has a procedural role in appointing the neutral expert and the court of arbitration; it is not a guarantor.

Model answer outline

Introduction: give the recent context, such as the 2025 events. Body:

• Terrorism as the core issue: list the attacks and their impact on the dialogue.
• Other issues: Kashmir, water and trade.
• Domestic factors in Pakistan: the army and the economy.
• India's tools: the diplomatic, economic and military responses described above.

Conclusion: lasting normalisation requires verifiable action against terror infrastructure. Until then, CBMs and crisis-management channels limit risks.